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And Just Like That showrunner says Willie Garson’s role would have been much bigger

Willie Garson attended the 28th Annual Elton John Academy Awards Viewing Party held at West Hollywood Park
Willie Garson died of pancreatic cancer in September 2021 at age 57. Pic credit: ©ImageCollect.com/Admedia

And Just Like That director and showrunner Michael Patrick King is speaking out about the original plans he had for actor Willie Garson on the HBO Max reboot had the actor not passed away last fall.

For six seasons of Sex and the City and two Sex and the City movies, Willie Garson played fabulous Stanford Blatch, one of Carrie Bradshaw’s nearest and dearest New York friends.

Willie Garson died last September from pancreatic cancer at just age 57. He had filmed three episodes of And Just Like That.

Now, the showrunner, Michael Patrick King, has been talking to People and Variety about his original plans for the character and why they had to change directions.

What had been Michael Patrick King’s original plans for Stanford Blatch in And Just Like That?

According to Michael Patrick King, Willie Garson was scheduled to appear in all ten episodes of And Just Like That.

“He was in all 10 episodes. Before I knew that Willie was sick and couldn’t complete it, Stanford was going to have a midlife crisis,” said Michael Patrick King told People.

That wouldn’t have been the only plot twist that would have changed for the character though. Stanford and his husband, Anthony Marentino (played by Mario Cantone), would split up, with Stanford asking Anthony for a divorce.

Stanford also made a big career shift by packing up and following a client to Japan to manage his TikTok channel, which he divulged in a note he left for Carrie in her apartment.

Later, Anthony stops by Carrie’s apartment and breaks the news to Carrie that Stanford wants a divorce.

Sarah Jessica Parker and Willie Garson had a friendship that lasted 30 years

According to Willie Garson, the two had been good friends for years. He said to Us Weekly in June, “As you probably know, Sarah Jessica and I were friends for 10 years before the show. And we’re still the closest of friends.”

The two actually first met on a blind date long before their Sex and the City days as young actors in New York. While the date didn’t go well, it formed a strong 30-year friendship.

On September 24, Sarah Jessica Parker uploaded a photo of her and Willie Garson and expressed her grief.

“It’s been unbearable,” the actress captioned in her post of losing her friend.

“Sometimes silence is a statement,” she continued.

“Of the gravity. The anguish. The magnitude of the loss of a 30 + year friendship. A real friendship that allowed for secrets, adventure, a shared professional family, truth, concerts, road trips, meals, late night phone calls, a mutual devotion to parenthood and all the heartaches and joy that accompany, triumphs, disappointments, fear, rage and years spent on sets (most especially Carrie’s apartment) and laughing late into the night as both Stanford and Carrie and Willie and SJ.
Willie. I will miss everything about you.”

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