Why highly anticipated 'Gossip Girl' reboot wouldn't have been made without Kristen Bell

Kristen Bell was instrumental to the Gossip Girl reboot.

The 40-year-old actress was the narrator for the original run of the teen drama series between 2007 and 2012, appearing in 120 episodes as the voice of the all-knowing and mysterious titular Gossip Girl.

And producers of the series have now admitted it was a "necessity" to have Kristen on board for the upcoming Gossip Girl reboot, as the show wouldn’t be the same without the actress' voice.

Showrunner Joshua Safran said: "It wasn't really a conversation, [creators] Josh [Schwartz] and Stephanie [Savage] were like, if she doesn't want to do it, let's all walk away," said Safran. "We went up to her and she was like, 'Of course I want to do it.' And then, yeah, there's no Gossip Girl without Kristen. I mean, it's not just the voice, it's her whole being.

"Her soul comes through her voice and you just feel like you're in the show. Without her, whenever there's like, a temp, it doesn't feel like the show, and then when you hear her voice, then you're like, 'There it
is.'"

The Gossip Girl reboot is set to premiere on July 8 on HBO Max, and will star Whitney Peak, Emily Alyn Lind, Evan Mock, Jordan Alexander, Thomas Doherty, Eli Brown, Zión Moreno, Savannah Smith, and Tavi Gevinson.

And several of the cast are also excited to welcome Kristen Bell back to her iconic role.

Emily Alyn Lynd said: "[Getting Kristen on board] was a necessity. Like, how can you have Gossip Girl without Kristen Bell? She's Gossip Girl, even if she's not Gossip Girl, she's Gossip Girl. We need Kristen Bell,
are you kidding me?"

While Jordan Alexander added to Entertainment Tonight: "So, first of all, Kristen Bell, like, swoon! We were all so excited because it, really wouldn't have been the same without her and I don't think it could have happened, so shout-out to Kristen Bell.

"We were so excited to pay homage to the first Gossip Girl. It was really like a quintessential New York moment and, you know, we are the next generation and we are just here to be really excited about that and, like, obviously hats off for the original Gossip Girl and what they did, really."

- Bang! Showbiz