'Euphoria' Star Storm Reid Departs HBO Series After Two-Year Production Delay: 'That's A Part Of My Legacy'

Actress Storm Reid is bowing out of Euphoria.

The 21-year-old When They See Us and Don’t Let Go star announced over the weekend that whenever Season 3 of the HBO series finally makes it to air, she will no longer be part of the cast.

While attending the Governor Awards on Sunday, Reid confirmed to Rotten Tomatoes that her character, Gia Bennett, would not be appearing in Season 3 of Euphoria.

“I’m very excited for season 3,” she told the movie ranking site, as reported by JustJared. “Unfortunately, Gia’s not returning to the third season, but I am so, so indebted to the cast and the crew of that show [and] to HBO.

Reid went on to note her time on Euphoria as “special,” adding, “I’m so glad that that’s a part of my legacy and that I was a part of such a cultural phenomenon. I can’t wait to see what season 3 has in store.”

Reid taking her leave from Euphoria is the latest chapter in the show’s long-delayed return.

Season Two of the HBO hit drama completed its run in February 2022. A third season was confirmed to be on its way that same month with production starting later that year.

Sadly, the tragic and sudden deaths of Angus Cloud, who played Fez, and Euphoria’s executive producer Kevin Turin, caused production to be postponed indefinitely. The 2023 Writer’s Strike further stretched the span of time in which the show might have started to come together again.

Back in July of this year, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that filming on Season 3 would finally begin in January 2025 – more than three years after its Season 2 run, which consisted of 8 episodes. To make up for time lost, showrunner Sam Levenson and HBO planned to push the story away from its high school origins, with rumors of Season 3 being set up as a “film noir,” as Esquire reported.

As of today, nothing official confirmed other than the principal cast – Zendaya, Sydney Sweeney, Jacob Elordi and Hunter Schafer – being officially signed on for Season 3.

With Reid on her way out of Euphoria, actress Nika King will be down one daughter should the show return.

Back in March, a viral TikTok of King, who plays mother of Rue (Zendaya) and Gia, Leslie Bennett, featured the actress claiming during a stand-up set that she couldn’t afford her rent due to the extended pause of the show’s production.

“Season three is coming out -- I don’t f-cking know [when],” King tells the audience, as The Hollywood Reporter transcribed. “'We need season three!’ B-tch, I need season three! I haven’t paid my rent in six months.”

She then referred to on-screen daughter Zendaya’s packed schedule and her penchant for turning heads at Fashion Week.

“And Zendaya’s over in Paris at Fashion Week,” King said. “I’m like, b-tch, come home! I need you! Mama needs you.”

After the TikTok made the media rounds, King reached out to THR to clarify her comments were “lighthearted” and not meant to be taken seriously.

“I actually have a few film projects releasing this year that I’m excited about,” she revealed. “It’s a blessing to craft a career in both drama and comedy.”

Adding to the continued confusion of the start of Euphoria, Season 3 is Zendaya, the show’s biggest lead. Back in April, the Challengers actress told Variety that, despite certain reports, she wasn’t “in charge” of whether or not the show would continue.

She expanded on this with Vogue Arabia back in October.

“I don’t actually know much about what is happening,” Zendaya said. “I don’t quite know exactly what the season is going to look like, but I do know that the time jump is happening and I know it’s important, because there’s only so much high school drama you can deal with.”

She did, at the very least, seem ready to go whenever the production kicked up again.

“It will be fascinating to see and understand these characters outside of the context of high school ,and how all the stuff that we saw in high school affects the kind of adulthood they have,” she explained. “I’ll be interested to see what happens too.”

Prepare yourself for when and if Euphoria returns for Season 3 by streaming the first two seasons, as well as the two special one-off episodes, on MAX.