Kim Cattrall embraces gay icon status as she CONFIRMS return of Samantha Jones ... trends now

Kim Cattrall confirmed her return as Sex And The City's Samantha Jones for the second season of spin-off And Just Like That - as she shared a playful message ahead of Pride.

The iconic actress, 66, whose bombshell return to the SATC universe was revealed on Wednesday, shared a fun Instagram post of the Variety article announcing her cameo, and wrote: 'Happy Pride!'

Cattrall and her hilarious publicist character Samantha are well-known gay icons and the star was marking the start of Pride Month with her post.

This comes after Cattrall's shock return was announced  - despite her explosive feud with star  Sarah Jessica Parker.

According to Variety, Cattrall will return for only one 'cliffhanger' scene, which she shot on March 22 in New York City, without seeing or speaking with stars SJP, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis. The scene was also shot without AJLT showrunner Michael Patrick King.

In the scene, Samantha, who has moved to London, will have a phone conversation with Parker's Carrie Bradshaw.

The New York Post also revealed that Cattrall's cameo was so secretive that her name did not even appear on the call sheet for the day, leaving people stunned at her presence.

An insider said said show staffers were 'definitely shocked, very intrigued on how they’re gonna write this in - and very excited. She said she’d never do it! She said she’d never come back!'

It was claimed her scene was filmed in a town car in a parking garage near Silvercup Studios in Queens.

Sex And The City designer Patricia Field, who is not the costume designer for AJLT, returned to dress Cattrall for the scene. AJLT's second season will premiere on June 22 on Max.

Samantha did feature in AJLT season one - but only over text message as Carrie repeatedly messaged her to try and repair their friendship. AJLT saw Carrie claim Samantha had cut her off and moved to London - due to fury at the writer firing her as a publicist - in a storyline Cattrall slammed for being inauthentic to the character.

The explosive reveal will both delight and shock fans of SATC as Cattrall has previously refused to ever reprise her fan-favorite role as the man-hungry publicist - having last played the character in much derided 2010 film, Sex and the City 2.

Even SJP has claimed she does not want Kim back - when asked by Variety in a 2022 interview if she would be 'OK' if Cattrall, 65, was able to come back to the show if some 'miracle were to happen,' after their very public feud exploded back in 2018.

 Parker responded: 'I don't think I would, because I think there's just too much public history of feelings on her part that she's shared.'

Adding: 'I haven't participated in or read articles, although people are inclined to let me know.' 

'We didn't go to Kim for this, you know,' Parker said. 'After we didn't do the movie and the studio couldn't meet what she wanted to do, we have to hear her and listen to her and what was important to her.'

'It didn't fit into what was important or needed for us. There's a very distinct line between Samantha and Kim,' Parker continued.

'Samantha's not gone. Samantha's present, and I think was handled with such respect and elegance. She wasn't villainized. She was a human being who had feelings about a relationship, so I think we found a way to address it which was necessary and important for people that loved her.'

Patricia has publicly pledged her allegiance with Kim since the show ended, and in December last year, said she is interested in doing a series with her.   

The two-time Emmy winner told Page Six: 'I would love to do a show with [Kim].' 

Back in December, Patricia also slammed Cynthia Nixon over her fashion demands when asked about her former assistant Molly Rogers' work styling the cast on HBO Max's And Just Like That.

The Oscar nominee admitted she 'liked some of it, but not all of it', during an interview with the Sunday Times.

She added: 'I know those gals! Sarah Jessica [Parker] thinks she knows everything - and she does. Cynthia Nixon thinks she knows everything - and she doesn't! Even today, when I speak with Molly, it's about Cynthia. I say, "I remember what you are going through."

Speaking about Kim's absence from the popular series, Field said: 'It is a vacuum. I hear it everywhere. Everyone is mad she won’t be in it.'

DailyMail.com exclusively revealed in September 2017 that a third Sex and the City movie was essentially 'torpedoed' due to Cattrall's excessive demands.

Cattrall reportedly demanded that Warner Bros. step up and produce other movies she was developing, or she wouldn't star in Sex and the City 3.

Parker, Nixon and Davis were all set to reprise their roles, with production slated to happen that fall, though the project completely fell apart and never went into production.

Cattrall denied the story, tweeting, 'The only DEMAND I ever made was that I didn’t want to do a 3rd film….& that was back in 2016.' 

Tensions had reportedly brewed between Cattrall and the rest of the cast since the start of the show, which escalated when one of her only allies - creator Darren Star - left the show and was replaced by Michael Patrick King, who created And Just Like That.

The feud escalated in 2018 when Cattrall blasted Parker for talking about Kim's brother Christopher, who was found dead in Canada, in a TV interview.

'Your continuous reaching out is a painful reminder of how cruel you really were then and now. Let me make this VERY clear. (If I haven’t already) You are not my family. You are not my friend. So I’m writing to tell you one last time to stop

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