Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen rose to fame on Full House in the ’90s, but the chances of the twins returning home on Netflix’s revamp of the hit series appear bleak.
The revelation comes from Fuller House star Jodie Sweetin, who spoke with Entertainment Tonight at the premiere of Kubo and the Two Strings in Los Angeles on Sunday.
v“We’ve tried everything,” said Sweetin, who grew up alongside the Olsens while playing their shared character Michelle Tanner’s sister Stephanie on the beloved family sitcom.
Added Sweetin: “I think we’ve kinda given up.”
Still, Sweetin promises exciting cameos from other stars in the show’s second season, which is currently in production and includes a special Thanksgiving episode the cast has teased on social media.
“We have a lot,” she told ET. “A lot of people that have been talked about for like 30 years are going to be on the show. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
Candace Cameron-Bure, Andrea Barber, and Sweetin star in the reboot, while their fellow original costars Bob Saget, Lori Loughlin, John Stamos, and Dave Coulier make guest appearances. Without the Olsen twins’ participation, the Fuller House team decided to explain Michelle’s absence in the revamp’s first episode, which debuted in February. “Well, Michelle sends her love, but she’s busy in New York running her fashion empire,” said Danny Tanner (Saget), the Olsen twins’ longtime TV dad.
“It was my idea,” John Stamos (Uncle Jesse) told PEOPLE of the reality-mirroring twist last year. “I thought, let’s just be simple and look at the camera. And it’s not a diss by any means. I just thought it was funny to go, ‘We get it, too.’”
Stamos has also defended the actresses-turned-designers, telling Howard Stern in January, “They seemed very into [Fuller House]; they just were afraid of acting. They hadn’t acted; they don’t consider themselves actresses.”
Should a change of heart take place, the Olsens can still claim their bedroom at the Tanner house. “I’m sure we’ve all had family reunions and not everyone shows up,” creator Jeff Franklin said at the Television Critics Association’s press tour in January. “But we still love them and the door is always open and I hope it happens.”
