General Hospital (GH) spoilers reveal that Chad Duell’s (Michael Corinthos) exit story is already underway at the ABC soap now that his character has been badly burned in a fire. It looks like Michael will need plenty of time to recover at a clinic due to his burns, so his departure allows for the possibility of Duell’s comeback.
However, there are no guarantees that Duell will be willing to reprise the role of Michael now that he’s taking this extended break.
In an interview with Maurice Benard (Sonny Corinthos) on his State of Mind podcast, Chad Duell opened up about his departure and return chances.
Duell is stepping away for personal reasons, especially since his father recently passed away and he’s still trying to process that.
Of course, Duell also has a young son, so he’s going to focus on his family and concentrate on his life outside the soap bubble.
That said, Duell didn’t rule out the idea of pursuing other projects now that Michael’s departure is happening.
“Look, if other opportunities come…the right ones…I’m like, ‘OK, let’s do it,” Duell said.
Duell also acknowledged that GH Executive Producer Frank Valentini “didn’t need to do that” when he left the door open for his return as Michael, but he’s grateful and feels blessed that he could possibly still come back somewhere down the line.
In other words, nothing is set in stone when it comes to Chad Duell reprising the role of Michael Corinthos.
It’s worth mentioning that this open door could also pave the way for a Michael recast if the show ultimately hires another actor to play the part.
In November 2024, Valentini spoke about Duell’s departure and hinted about there being “no plans to recast his role at this time, but you never know in daytime.”
If Duell delays his return too long or decides he doesn’t want to make a comeback, Valentini could opt to continue Michael’s story with someone else playing him instead.
It’ll be interesting to see what happens with Michael moving forward, so stick with us for more predictions on his future story arcs and any recast news down the road.
General Hospital spoilers say Michael’s going to make his exit for now, so stay tuned for updates on the dramatic scenes ahead.
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