Which Glee stars are returning for reboot as Lea Michele ‘confirmed’

Glee is officially back – and more and more of its original cast members appear to be confirming that they’ll also be returning to their roles.

On 21 October, it was announced Glee was being rebooted for Disney+ and Hulu, after creator Ryan Murphy previously confirmed that a script had been written, and that he’d spoken to a number of original stars.

Details of the plot and cast were not immediately released, but a number of the core cast members have since appeared to confirm they’ll be back.

Lea Michele as Rachel Berry

According to Variety, Lea Michele is coming back to her role of Rachel Berry. A source told them: “She’s in. It’s still early-ish days, but it feels good and we’re happy to get the band back together.”

Unlike some of her co-stars, Michele is yet to confirm or even hint at her return on social media. However she recently shared her continued love for Glee, telling E! News she “will follow Ryan [Murphy] wherever he goes”.

The last fans saw of Rachel, she had become a Tony Award-winning Broadway actress, married Jesse St James (played by Jonathan Groff) and was a surrogate for Kurt Hummel and Blaine Anderson.

Heather Morris as Brittany S Pierce

After the reboot news, Heather Morris, who played bisexual favourite Brittany S Pierce, confirmed she was returning.

Sharing a behind-the-scenes image of herself in costume from the original run, Morris said: “Yes ladies and gentle men of women, rumours are true. Brittany S Pierce was in fact lost in the sewers for all these years. But I’m here to inform you that she is alive and well… and back for more Glee.”

Fans filled her comment section with love for “Brittana”, the couple name given to Brittany and Naya Rivera’s character Santana Lopez. They got married in the original run.

Rivera tragically died in 2020 after accidentally drowning while swimming with her son.

Chord Overstreet as Sam Evans

Chord Overstreet, who played “trouty mouth” hunk Sam Evans, suggested he was also returning.

In a post on X, he wrote: “Reunited and it feels so good!”

Overstreet’s character had a number of hard-hitting storylines, including homelessness and body dysmorphia.

Sam went on to became the new coach of the New Directions glee club, and was dating someone after splitting from Mercedes Jones again.

Jenna Ushkowitz as Tina Cohen-Chang

Jenna Ushkowitz appeared to confirm her return too, sharing a series of images from her time on the show alongside the caption: “QUEEN T.”

Amber Riley, who has not yet confirmed her return as Mercedes Jones, commented: “An icon. A legend.”

While Heather Morris, who has confirmed she’ll be back, seemed to confirm Ushkowitz’s return, suggesting Tina’s first song on the reboot would be Evanescence’s “Bring Me To Life”.

By the end of Glee, Tina was dating Artie Abrams again, and had appeared in his film.

Kevin McHale as Artie Abrams

Kevin McHale hasn’t exactly confirmed his return as Artie, however some fans are taking an X post from the same day as the announcement that he will be back.

Quoting a 2020 post from Genius about Drake passing the Glee cast for the most Billboard Hot 100 hits, McHale wrote: “Challenge accepted.” He also shared a photo which Ushkowitz had posted of them together in her post on his Instagram Story.

Artie was disabled and used a wheelchair, and fans have expressed it may be wrong for McHale to portray the character.

McHale has also previously said an able-bodied character playing a wheelchair user “couldn’t happen today”. However, in September, he told People he “couldn’t say no” to returning to Glee with the original cast and Murphy.

The last fans saw of Artie, he was back with Tina, and was a film director.

Chris Colfer as Kurt Hummel, Darren Criss as Blaine Anderson

Chris Colfer recently said he’d “heard nothing” about a Glee reboot – though that was, of course, when it had not been confirmed. He also said suggested it would be difficult to say no, though it would be difficult to return to the show without Naya Rivera.

Even more recently, Colfer joined Darren Criss – the Blaine Anderson to his Kurt Hummel – on stage in London to perform the Glee version of “Baby, It’s Cold Outside”. It’s also worth noting that Criss often still performs Glee tracks on his tours.

Other than fans speculating the performance could mean they’re returning, neither have confirmed anything either way.

Blaine and Kurt got married in the original run, and were set to become parents, with Rachel being their surrogate.

Matthew Morrison as Will Schuester

According to Deadline, Matthew Morrison is not in talks to return for the reboot, but is hopeful that he will be part of it.

However, he revealed in 2024 that he had asked to be written out of the show. His exit was scrapped, though, following the tragic death of Cory Monteith, who played Finn Hudson.

At the end of Glee, Mr Schue was the principle of McKinley High, which had become a performing arts school.

Jane Lynch as Sue Sylvester

Jane Lynch has not confirmed her return as Sue Sylvester, however it appears she is excited for the Glee reboot.

She shared news of the reboot on her Instagram story, but so far has not confirmed or denied she will be part of it.

By the end of the show, Sue was the first female Vice President of the United States.

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