Can you imagine a world without Mr. Big?
It sounds like the writers of “Sex and the City” definitely could, and they were planning to have Mr. Big (Chris Noth) die in the “Sex and the City 3” movie, which never ended up getting made.
This is all according to James Andrew Miller’s “Origins” podcast. The author interviewed the entire “Sex and the City” cast with the exception of Kim Cattrall, who played Samantha Jones.
When speaking about Cattrall’s decision not to take part in the third film, Miller claims it was partly because the script focused heavily on Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) dealing with the death of Big, leaving little for Cattrall’s character.
“People close to Kim believe that the script didn’t have a lot to offer the character of Samantha,” Miller said. “They point to the fact that it calls for Mr. Big to die of a heart attack in the shower, relatively early on in the film, making the remainder of the movie more about how Carrie recovers from Big’s death than about the relationship between the four women.”
Kim Cattrall and Sarah Jessica Parker’s unfortunate feud
Such a story development likely would come as a shock to fans who patiently followed Big and Bradshaw’s long road to the altar – the couple finally married in the 2008 hit film “Sex and the City,” a sequel to the long-running HBO series. (Warner Media owns both HBO and CNN.)
Parker says she practically begged Cattrall to reconsider her decision not to participate.
“I had many, many, many, many conversations with her manager where I was told, ‘She would love to hear from you.’ I emailed her, I tried to reach out to her and say, ‘We want you part of this. You’re an integral part. Of course, you are. I hope that when you read this script, you’ll see the beauty, the joy, the heartbreak in it that I see, that we have seen,’ ” she said on the podcast.
Cattrall spoke out earlier this year about how didn’t appreciate being held responsible for holding up a third movie.
In an interview with Piers Morgan, the actress said she made the decision in 2016 that she did not want to be involved in any more sequels. It had nothing to do with demands for money or more scenes, she said.
“This is about a clear decision, an empowered decision in my life, to end one chapter and start another,” she said.
In the “Origins” podcast, Parker also weighed in on what she thinks her character would be doing in 2018.
“(The #MeToo movement) would be rich territory for her to explore,” Parker said. “Carrie really talked mostly about sexual politics, and that is obviously a large part of #MeToo and Time’s Up conversations. I’m sure she would have a lot to say, as would Miranda, Samantha and Charlotte.”
CNN has reached out to Parker, Cattrall and HBO for comment.
CNN’s Lisa Respers France contributed to this report.
