That sound you hear? It's the sound of hundreds of Dan-Humphrey-grew-up-and-became-Joe-Goldberg theorists furiously processing the news that the Gossip Girl reboot just cast You alum Elizabeth Lail in a secret new role. Lail is not the first actor to appear in both TV universes, but she is the first to make the jump from You to Gossip Girl, which could disrupt the balance of the TV universe.
In You Season 1, Lail played Guinevere Beck, the doomed object of Joe Goldberg's (Penn Badgley) affections. And spoiler alert: the season ended with Joe killing her after she figured out he was a stalker and murderer. No word yet on who Lail will play in HBO Max's Gossip Girl reboot, though she's not exactly the right age to play a high school student. Maybe a wayward sister or a scandalous teacher?
Honestly, I care less about who she's playing and more about what her casting means for the beloved theory that You is really a sneaky sequel to Gossip Girl.
The theory, which revolves around Badgley, essentially goes like this: Dan Humphrey, who was revealed to be Gossip Girl all along in the series finale, grew up and fully embraced his stalker tendencies, eventually becoming Joe Goldberg from You. In addition to Dan's stalking skills, his love of literature and New York City upbringing all supports this theory. Badgley himself has joked that Joe is "just Dan with a knife." But how can You be a sequel to Gossip Girl if Lail exists in both shows?
HBO Max has already confirmed that the new Gossip Girl reboot takes place in the same universe as the original show, but a decade later. Presumably Lail will play a living character in the reboot, which would mean she can't be Guinevere Beck because Guinevere Beck is very, very dead. And not in a, Joe thinks she's dead, but maybe she escaped kind of way. Her body was found in her therapist's backyard. She's not coming back from that one.
On the bright side, with this casting news comes a few sneak peeks at the Gossip Girl reboot. The show's official Instagram page has been particularly active this past month, sharing videos and stalker-like boomerangs of the show's characters, made by Gossip Girl herself. "The start of a new term begs the question: who will have what it takes to rise to the top of Constance's social class? You knowkeeping a close eye on the ranks. XOXO, Gossip Girl," she captioned a Feb. 24 post, teasing a return to the Constance Billiard school for girls.
The You as a Gossip Girl sequel theory might be dead now, but at least we know Gossip Girl, whoever she is this time, is still just as creepy as ever.
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Image: HBO Max/YouTube