Could we have our Sophie Beckett for Bridgerton season 4? (fans seem to believe so)

Dearest readers, we have some juicy information to share with you regarding the hit period drama Bridgerton. Fans are abuzz with the latest rumors surrounding the series. There are rumors floating around that the upcoming Bridgerton season 4 will focus on the second oldest of the Bridgerton children, Benedict Bridgerton, and that his love interest has been cast. More on that below.

Bridgerton season 3 isn't even out yet, and people are already wondering about the fourth season. As you probably already know, the third season will focus on Colin Bridgerton and his friends-to-lovers romance with Penelope Featherington. The season has been split into two parts with part 1 coming out on May 16 and part 2 on June 13.

While we're excited to see their love story unfold, we can't wait to see which Bridgerton sibling will be finding love next. I doubt it would be the younger siblings (Francesca, Gregory, or Hyacinth). My guess is that Bridgerton season 4 would center around Eloise or Benedict. But everyone thought season 3 was going to follow the books and focus on Benedict's love story, but Shonda and the creative team behind the show decided to switch things up and switch the focus to Colin instead.

So, it would only make sense that the show takes a step back and tells Benedict's story in season 4 before moving on to Eloise since he was skipped over. And based on these recent rumors, it looks like this might actually happen.

So, where did these rumors come from? Well, it all started on the discussion website, Reddit. A Reddit user, whose name we will not disclose for privacy reasons, commented on a Bridgerton-related post on the site saying that a casting call went out for the period drama on the casting website Spotlight in December 2022 for the lead of Bridgerton season 4.

According to this Reddit user, the casting was for a black actress and that she would be playing "a huge role that will be in one episode this series, but will go onto be leading the next." The one episode is believed to be an episode of the third season, and then the character will be the lead in season 4. The character was described in the casting call as a "devilish charmer, quick-witted, fast-talking, always with a joke, but beneath that exterior is a perceptive, kind, loyal soul."

The Reddit user also said that in the casting notice, it said that the show was casting for a character named "Molly." However, this character name is believed to be a code name for Sophie Beckett. If you didn't know, Sophie Beckett is Benedict's love interest in the Bridgerton books. In casting calls, the characters' real names from shows and movies aren't usually revealed and fake names are used instead.

This is what led fans to believe that the fourth season will tell Benedict and Sophie's love story. If the period drama was casting for a lead female character for season 4, and there's only one adult brother's love story left to tell, that means it would have to be Benedict's love interest. And if the casting was really for the Sophie character, that means the role has already been filled because according to the casting notice, the character appears in one episode of season 3 which has been filmed already.

So, who could be playing Sophie? Many fans believe that South African actress Masali Baduza could have been cast in the role of Sophie Beckett. Why? Well, fans noticed that back in February 2023, Baduza started following some of the Bridgerton cast members, Shonda Rhimes, and the official Bridgerton page on Instagram. This happened a couple of months after the casting call went out and only a month before season 3 wrapped filming.

The cast members she followed included season 3 newcomers Hannah New and Hannah Dodd. She later followed cast member Nicola Coughlan and one of the makeup artists for the show Grace Gorman. They all eventually followed her back as well. Another reason why fans believe she might've been cast for the role of Sophie is because she matches the casting notice that the Reddit user shared. Besides the casting being for a black actress, it also said the person has to be "fully available throughout 2023." It doesn't look like Baduza was working on any projects in 2023, so this matches up.

But remember, this is all rumors. Netflix nor the creative team behind the show has announced who will be playing Sophie yet. Also, we still don't know which Bridgerton family member the fourth season will focus on either. We'll let you know all these deets once they're revealed, so stay tuned to Netflix Life.