Alan Rickman's Character Won't Be Addressed in the Comic Relief 'Love Actually' sequel

Along the feelings of sheer joy, jubilation and delight created in response to the Love Actually sequel news, it was hard to ignore the twinge of pain when it came to the late Alan Rickman, and his character Harry.

Once we'd stopped dancing around the houses and swinging our cat above our heads at the thought of Comic Relief's Love Actually  (opens in new tab)sequel (opens in new tab), we looked into which characters had been confirmed to make their comeback, 14 years later.

And while the likes of Hugh Grant, Martine McCutcheon, Keira Knightley, Liam Neeson, Colin Firth, and Andrew Lincoln will be revisited, Emma Thompson's character Karen was noticeably absent from casting—which left fans wondering whether an Alan Rickman tribute would be happening.

The answer? Unfortunately not.

Director Richard Curtis has spoken up and said dealing with Rickman's death would "be very complicated," and admitted that there isn't enough time to look into all of the much-loved character's lives in the TV sequel.

"You know dealing with Alan is very complicated so not really," he told Press Association (opens in new tab). "We're not doing everyone. We're doing about two thirds of people."

He also confirmed Emma Thompson definitely wasn't going to be in it ("Ems isn't in it. She just can't do it"), after previously explaining (opens in new tab) that the whole thing had been quite rushed, and she couldn't find the time to commit.

Alan Rickman tragically died (opens in new tab) at the age of 69 following a battle with cancer.

The 10-minute Love Actually movie will air during BBC One's live Red Nose Day in aid of Comic Relief on March 24.

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