The cast and crew of General Hospital are waiting for official word on when they can return to work and rumors about what’s ahead are starting to swirl. In the midst of a lot of unknowns, some cast members like Max Gail are reaching out to fans to try to put some of the speculation to rest. On Monday, Max’s official Facebook page addressed some speculation that he wouldn’t be brought back as Mike Corbin when filming started up again.
Last week, reports detailed that the plan was for the cast and crew to begin taping again during the week of July 20. At the same time, COVID-19 cases in California have been surging again, so the plans to resume filming within a matter of days may need to shift out again.
In lieu of specifics, it seems some buzz started to swirl that General Hospital might not bring Max back to reprise his role as Mike. Apparently, the idea was that due to his age and the risks that older people face with coronavirus, the show might avoid taking risks on this front at all.
However, that seemingly is not the case — at least not officially. The Facebook page that is connected to Max — and run day-to-day by a friend named Sue — addressed this speculation.
“Max has been told of a potential return to work later this month, and hasn’t been told anything about his storyline changing or his age being an issue,” Sue wrote.
She promised to keep General Hospital fans posted and noted that the shifts enacted this week by California Gov. Gavin Newsom might impact the ability for production to resume.
“He’s in excellent health and has been taking all proper precautions to stay that way. I really don’t think they’d cheat the fans out of saying goodbye to Mike,” Sue added.
In the weeks leading up to the hiatus of new episodes, Sonny Corinthos was struggling as Mike’s Alzheimer’s caused more and more significant cognitive decline. If the show were to kill off Sonny without the actor playing him, viewers would surely be quite upset.
“The storyline has been too important and meant too much. I’m confident they’ll find away [sic] to do right by Mike and the fans,” Sue noted.
For now, anxious General Hospital viewers will need to hang tight and stay tuned. At whatever point filming does resume, the cast and crew will need to follow new procedures, and it may take some time for actors like Max to be brought back in to film.
It does seem unlikely that the show would essentially bail on wrapping up this Mike storyline with Max acting alongside his co-stars, and more information should emerge soon.
