"Maybe we can figure something out": Paradise star James Marsden teases his potential return in the second season

Premiering in January 2025, Paradise on Hulu became one of the biggest shows of the year. The post-apocalyptic political thriller narrates the story of how, after an apocalyptic tragedy, the survivors lived their lives in a bunker in Colorado. Paradise blends post-apocalyptic themes with a thriller storyline as James Marsden’s character, President Cal Bradford, gets shot and dies in the premiere episode.

However, as we uncover the mystery behind who killed the President, we see more of Marsden’s Cal in flashback scenes, making him a crucial character. While he is technically dead in the series, it did not stop Marsden from teasing the fans about the possibility of his return in season 2. He shared in a Vanity Fair interview about this and said:

"I don't want to give false hope here that I'm somehow alive, but maybe we can figure something out."

More on this in our story.

James Marsden teases his potential return in Paradise Season 2

As the series begins, Marsden’s Cal is shot dead, and the lead agent of the Secret Service, Xavier Collins (Sterling K. Brown), becomes the primary suspect in the murder. Collins tries to prove his innocence as the series progresses and uncovers more mysteries about Cal’s death and the apocalyptic event, and the life of the people in the bunker.

Marsden’s character was one of the crucial characters of Paradise, who not only became a major part of the storyline but also had significant character growth throughout the eight episodes of the thriller series. This made fans hopeful of his return in Paradise Season 2. However, Marsden gave a vague comment, teasing the fans about his return in the upcoming season.

While talking about his return to Vanity Fair, he compared the scenario with another one of his superhit shows, Dead to Me, where he was supposed to be a character who appears for one season, but due to the support of fans loving the show and the characters, he returned.

To add to his previous comment, he said:

"I'm not sure what I'm allowed to say. Even though my vague answer to your question is probably the answer to your question. It’s funny—when the show came out, I had a little deja vu. Because when I did this show Dead to Me, I meant to sign on for one season, play this kind of asshole character, and then be done. The show came out, everyone loved it, and I thought, it's too bad it's over. And [creator Liz Feldman] was like, “maybe it doesn't have to be. Maybe we will bring you back somehow.” And I was a twin."

He further added:

"And so when this show came out, and it was a huge success, I had the same kind of feeling. I told Dan, “Geez, I guess I'm really dead.” And he said, “yeah. Sadly, we can't bring you back.” He said, “if you would've told me you were going to be this good, I would've figured something out at the end of the first season.” And then it became even bigger because of the seventh episode, and then I got a text from Dan going, “well, maybe you aren't dead.”

Marsden’s character was the highlight in the penultimate episode of Paradise. He depicted the complex but flawed character through Cal, when he decides to be honest with his citizens by revealing everything about the apocalypse, to give them a choice of how they want to spend their final moments.

This is one of the crucial moments for Marsden’s Cal in Paradise, which might also become a reason for his comeback, if he makes a return to Paradise in season 2.

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