Kim Cattrall loves her "Sex and the City" character Samantha Jones as much as the rest of us.
But that doesn't mean she will return to the role.
In a new interview with Variety, the actor was asked about returning to the franchise.
"That's a no," she said. "It's powerful to say no."
The spinoff "And Just Like That," which notably does not include Samantha — the storyline for the character was criticized by many fans online — was recently renewed for a second season.
"You know the thing about doing a show like 'Sex and the City'? I think Darren got it right with 'Emily in Paris.' It's a young show. It's about young ideals. It's about discovery. I think the original show is really amazing, but that was a different time," she told the publication.
Cattrall said she hasn't seen the spinoff, but said, "I certainly heard about it. And I've come to the conclusion that really the greatest compliment I could have as an actor is to be missed."
The original HBO series ran from 1998 to 2004. There were two subsequent films.
When asked if she was ever friends with her costars, Cattrall said it depends on "how you define friends."
"I think we were colleagues," she said. "My colleagues aren't my friends. It was professional."
In the spinoff, which debuted in December, the first time viewers see Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) with her girlfriends, Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) and Charlotte (Kristin Davis), the group is waiting to be seated at a restaurant. Notably absent from the mix is Samantha.
While fans knew about Cattrall's absence on the reboot (and her feud with Parker), the reason for the character's absence was unclear until the first episode, during which they revealed Samantha had left for London, and the group of friends had a falling out.
In the episode, while walking with Carrie, Miranda remarks, "You know, it is kind of like she's dead, Samantha. We never even talk about her."
"Well, what is there to say?" Carrie responds, elaborating on how the two had a falling out. "I told her that because of you know, what the book business is now, it just doesn't make sense for me to keep her on as a publicist. She said fine and then fired me as a friend... she stopped returning my calls."
Miranda says she and Charlotte also hadn't heard from Samantha since her overseas move. "It's so weird," Miranda says.
"I know, I always thought the four of us would be friends forever," Carrie replies.
Cattrall told Variety she had heard about that particular storyline.
"Well, that feels different than the Samantha that I played," she said.
"It's odd, isn't it?," she continued, when asked about how she feels about the character living on in the series. "I don't know how to feel about it. It's so finite for me, so it doesn't continue. ... Other than the really wonderful feeling of — it's rare in my business — people wanting more, especially at 65. That feels powerful, that I've left something behind that I'm so proud of. I loved her. I loved her so, so, so much. It's tough competition. The original show is in all of our imaginations. But for me, it feels clean."
