‘Sex And The City’ Star Gilles Marini Defends Kim Cattrall, Says ‘SATC3’ Can Happen If The Studio Wants It To

Sex and the City stars have been all over the board when it comes to a long-awaited third movie for the franchise. While many of the stars of the HBO TV and movie series, including Sarah Jessica Parker and Kristin Davis, have expressed hope for a third Sex and the City film, series star Kim Cattrall has stated she does not want to participate in any future films. Cattrall, who played Samantha Jones on the series, has faced major backlash from fans and her former co-stars after her comments about the series, but Sex and the City alum Gilles Marini is defending the actress, saying she is entitled to have her own voice regarding a third movie.

Marini, who played Samantha’s sexy beach house neighbor, Dante, in the first Sex and the City movie in 2008, told Us Weekly “everybody has a reason for their choices”—especially Cattrall, who was a pivotal part of the long-running HBO series about four best friends living in New York City.

“I think there’s one thing that we cannot take away from Kim – the show was phenomenal, and with Kim in it, it became incredible,” Marini said.

“She did two movies and I think they wanted to do a third one and I guess she decided not to do it. There’s nothing we can force anybody to do…Everybody wants to see a third one, I get it, and sometimes things don’t work.”

Cattrall has been faced with backlash about putting the kibosh on Sex and the City 3, despite the fact that she told Piers Morgan’s Life Stories that producers should just replace the Samantha Jones character or even kill her off. Diehard fans—the same ones who are angry with Kim Cattrall—have said the show wouldn’t be the same without Samantha.

Sadly, Kim Cattrall so crushed some fans’ squad goals by admitting she was “never friends” with her Sex and the City co-stars. At least Dante has her back.

“She had a work friendship with them, versus a friendship friendship, and I experience that myself on different shows,” Gilles told Us. “You had an incredible time with people on set but they are not your best friends hanging out at the house, so I understand what she said there.”

While Kim Cattrall has given her approval for a Sex and the City 3 without Samantha Jones, Gilles Marini says he’s not sure how that would feel. But he also said it’s unfair to place blame on the 62-year-old actress because the movie deal is out of her hands.

“I don’t think you can get rid of Kim Cattrall,” Gilles said of a Sam-free SATC3.

“Maybe working around Kim Cattrall is possible, [but] it’s all about the studio. Let’s be honest with all these things — if the studio wants to do the movie without Kim, they would be able to do it. I get a lot of people are frustrated and upset, but in the end of the day it’s a choice that someone wants to make for their life and we have to respect it.”

While Kim Cattrall has taken most of the heat for the scrapped Sex and the City movie, she is not the only original star who seems to be done with the series. According to People, at the premiere of Manhunt: Unabomber earlier this year, actor Chris Noth, who played the eponymous Mr. Big on the SATC series, all but said he is done playing Carrie Bradshaw’s longtime love.

“I don’t think there’s anything left for me to say about that,” Noth said when asked about Sex and the City 3. “I want to tell other stories.”

Can you imagine a third Sex and the City movie without Samantha Jones—or Big?

Take a look at a Kim Cattrall and Chris Noth in a deleted scene from Sex and the City below.

[Featured Image by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images]