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Heartstopper recasts a fan-favorite role ahead of its big Netflix finale
The bad news: Olivia Colman will not be returning as Sarah Nelson for Heartstopper Forever
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As Netflix gears up for the release of Heartstopper Forever, the movie that will wrap up the streamer's adaptation of Alice Oseman's webcomic series, one cast member won't be returning to join the festivities. Unfortunately, Academy Award-winning actress Olivia Colman will not reprise her role as Nick's mother, Sarah.
According to Netflix's Tudum, due to scheduling conflicts, Olivia Colman was not able to return for Heartstopper Forever. In the wake of this, Alice Oseman "made the difficult decision to recast the part, rather than exclude the character" from the film's story. Replacing Colman is British actress Sarah Nelson is Anne Maxwell Martin, who starred in the BBC's comedy Motherland.
The last time Colman appeared in Heartstopper was in 2023, in season 2 of the show. And since she wasn't able to return for the show's third season, the show avoided writing her character in. Oseman expanded upon the decision to recast Sarah: "When beginning to work on the Heartstopper Forever screenplay, I knew how important it was that Sarah, Nick’s mum, appeared in the story. Since Season 1, we have seen how close Nick is with his mum; she’s one of the few people he can turn to in moments of crisis."
"While in Season 3, we were able to tweak the story to avoid any appearance of Sarah, it felt nonsensical for her to be absent from this final chapter, given some of the emotional struggles Nick faces. Sadly, Olivia Colman was not able to join us for the film, so we made the very difficult decision to recast the role, rather than exclude the character. We are deeply grateful for Olivia's beautiful performance as Sarah in Seasons 1 and 2 of Heartstopper, through such iconic moments as Nick coming out as bisexual, and we know that her performance will live on in the hearts of every Heartstopper fan."
Heartstopper Forever will be released on Netflix July 17.
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