Bridgerton Fans Have Wild Theory Based On Chris Van Dusen's Bookcase. And It's Totally Valid

Summary

• In the absence of information about the beloved show, Bridgerton fans are scrolling through old cast and crew interviews.
• That's how one X user came across a two-year-old interview with the show's executive producer, Chris Van Dusen.
• The video shows Dusen's bookshelf filled with Julia Quinn's old edition.
• The order of the books suggests that Eloise's story may jump ahead of Benedict's in the adaptation.

The greatest detective agency that is the Bridgerverse fandom has once again worked its magic.

Bridgerton fans are always particularly attentive and meticulous when it comes to details, and the long (over 1.8 years) hiatus between seasons has only sharpened these qualities.

Desperate for even the smallest crumbs of information about their beloved show, fans are using the drought to watch and rewatch old cast and crew interviews. So when X user @messsolitude stumbled upon a two-year-old AAFCA interview with Bridgerton executive producer Chris Van Dusen, they couldn't believe their eyes.

Chris Van Dusen's bookshelf

In the interview, the EP has a bookcase in the background filled with paperback editions of Julia Quinn's Bridgerton series. But the novels are not arranged in order of publication. Instead, there is a very specific order that makes you wonder.

It is hard to see clearly, but fans have noted that the editions in the video are the older versions of the paperbacks from Avon Books, and the order is as follows: The Duke and I (Daphne), The Viscount Who Loved Me (Anthony), Romancing Mister Bridgerton (Colin), To Sir Phillip, With Love (Eloise), An Offer From a Gentleman (Benedict), On the Way to the Wedding (Gregory).

This leads to some interesting conclusions about the future of the series.

1. Major clue

In 2020, when the interview aired, there was no way for us to know that Colin's love story will jump ahead of Benedict's in the adaptation. After all, Daphne and Anthony had their stories unfold on screen in the same order as in the books.

But now that we know, the order of Julia Quinn's novels on Chris Van Dusen's bookshelf proves that the big clue has always been in front of our own eyes: it could mirror the order of the Bridgerton seasons.

2. Eloise could be next

One of the biggest questions in the Bridgerverse is who's next? We know that Colin and Penelope will get their happily ever after in Season 3 (and hopefully soon), but Season 4 hasn't been assigned a lead character yet. And fans are wondering if the creators will continue to disrupt the order of the original book series and put Eloise first.

Chris Van Dusen's bookshelf certainly suggests that is the case.

3. There is no Francesca's book

While scrolling through the interview, fans noticed that there was no When He Was Wicked novel, which is yellow in this issue. Instead, after Benedict's book, which is fifth, comes Gregory's novel.

This left fans wondering if the fan-favorite Francesca story was being pushed to the final season, or if the producer was just reading it at the time of the interview. Or maybe it was just a coincidence and the order of the books is just random. What do you think?

Sources: AAFCA, X.