“Heartstopper” fans were right! Jonathan Bailey officially joins season 3

Hayley Atwell and Eddie Marsan also join the cast — and we know who all three are playing.

Heartstopper fans called it: Bridgerton, Fellow Travelers, and Wicked star Jonathan Bailey has joined the cast of season 3 in the exact role watchers of the warm-hearted LGBTQ series thought.

Bailey will make a cameo appearance as Jack Maddox, creator and writer Alice Oseman confirmed in a statement Thursday. Jack is a twist on the Henry Maddox character from the Heartstopper graphic novels as "an Instagram-famous classicist and celebrity crush of Charlie," Oseman said.

Weeks ago, multiple media outlets clocked a Jack Maddox Instagram account that featured photos of Bailey. Some showed the actor holding a "Trans Rights Are Human Rights" sign, and another showed him with an e-book cover titled 10 Things I Hate About Plato authored by this Jack Maddox figure. The bio also read: "Scholar. Keyboardist. Racer. ‘Meditations on the Greek Complex’ is out now in all good bookshops." The account has since been scrubbed, but it only fueled fan theories of Bailey joining Heartstopper.

Bailey appeared in a behind-the-scenes clip from the series as part of the official reveal.

Along with the official announcement, Oseman revealed Hayley Atwell (Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness) and Eddie Marsan (Back to Black, Ray Donovan) are also joining season 3 in key roles.

Atwell's casting, in particular, sheds light on how the show might be adapting a tear-jerking scene from the graphic novels. The actress is playing Nick’s Aunt Diane, "who takes Nick on a summer holiday to Menorca and has some tough advice to impart about his relationship," Oseman stated. This should be of interest in light of Olivia Colman's absence as Nick's mom Sarah.

When Colman said she couldn't make season 3 filming work with her schedule — don't worry, there's room for her to return in a potential season 4 — there was concern about whether a touching beach-set scene between mother and son about how love can't cure mental illness would be incorporated on the show. Oseman teased in March, "I've written in some new elements of the story to ensure that it gives us the emotional punch that it gives in the comic." Might Atwell's Aunt Diane be a part of those new elements?

Marsan, meanwhile, will show up as Geoff, "Charlie’s wise and straight-talking therapist" from the graphic novels, Oseman confirmed.

Heartstopper season 3 will return Kit Connor as Nick Nelson and Joe Locke as Charlie Spring. A big part of the story will involve Charlie's continued struggles with mental health.

According to the official summary, "Charlie would like to tell Nick that he loves him. Nick also has something important to say to Charlie. As the summer holiday ends and the months race on, the friends begin to realize that the school year will come with both its joys and its challenges. As they learn more about each other and their relationships, plan social events and parties and start thinking about university choices, everyone must learn to lean on those they love when life doesn't go to plan."

"It was an absolute joy to see Hayley, Eddie, and Jonathan’s talent alongside our existing cast, and I can’t wait for the Heartstopper fans to meet these new characters," Oseman said of the three new cast members.

William Gao, Yasmin Finney, Corinna Brown, Kizzy Edgell, Tobie Donovan, Jenny Walser, Rhea Norwood, and Leila Khan will also return for Heartstopper season 3, which will premiere on Netflix this October.

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Related content:

• Olivia Colman won't return for Heartstopper season 3: 'I couldn't fit it in'

• Nick and Charlie visit the City of Love in our first look at Heartstopper season 2

• Be still our hearts! Heartstopper to bring more queer joy as Netflix renews it for seasons 2 and 3

• Heartstopper stars Kit Connor, Joe Locke talk chemistry reads and potential season 2
  

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