Chad Duell Opens Up About Leaving GH and Why He’s Not Ready to Close The Door On A Return as Michael Corinthos

CHAD DUELL IS READY FOR A GH COMEBACK AS MICHAEL CORINTHOS

TL;DR: Chad Duell is opening up about life after Port Charles, and while he’s game for pretty much any opportunity that comes his way, he made it clear a return to General Hospital as Michael Corinthos is the one he’d love most.

Chad Duell Didn’t See the Recast Coming

Chad Duell spent nearly 15 years bringing Michael Corinthos to life on General Hospital, picking up a Daytime Emmy along the way, before stepping away from the role in late 2024. His final episode aired January 21, 2025, with Michael shipped overseas to recover from injuries sustained in a penthouse explosion, a storyline exit designed to leave the door open. Rory Gibson debuted as the new Michael that May, during the Nurses’ Ball.

In a new sit-down with Michael Fairman, Duell admitted the recast genuinely caught him off guard. He said he gave executive producer Frank Valentini months of notice specifically so the show could build a proper exit, and that he always figured he’d left himself a way back in. “They didn’t burn my face because I told him I was willing to come back,” Duell explained. “I wasn’t, it was just a little bit of a break.” He said he assumed that if the show planned to replace him, they would have altered Michael’s appearance to signal it, so watching Rory Gibson step into the role without that visual cue took him by surprise.

Have a soap moment you want us to cover? Send it our way at amber@soapoperamagazine.com, we’d love to hear from you.

Chad Duell Is Open to Whatever Comes Next

Duell was candid that stepping away wasn’t only about the recast, it was about needing a genuine reset after his father’s death and years on the same demanding schedule. These days, he’s channeling that energy into music under the name Duelly, but he made clear the door to daytime is still very much open. “I’m open,” he said. “I’m in a better head space for sure.” Asked directly about his future on the show, he added that he doesn’t know what’s next, but that he’s ready to “really sink my teeth into something again.”

Duell didn’t shy away from naming General Hospital specifically as his top choice if the opportunity ever presented itself, saying he still misses the people and the energy on set more than almost anything else about the job. He’d be walking back into a very different Corinthos family dynamic than the one he left behind too, given everything currently playing out between Michael and Willow. Still, that’s part of what makes the idea exciting to him: a character with 15 years of history and a whole new set of stakes to dig into.

Would you want to see Chad Duell back as Michael Corinthos? Let us know in the comments below.

Sending Him Our Best

Whether Chad Duell’s future includes a trip back to Port Charles or a whole new chapter in music, one thing is clear: fans haven’t stopped rooting for him, and neither have we. Fifteen years is a legacy, not a footnote, and Duell’s openness to revisiting it says a lot about how much that history still means to him.

Join us on our Facebook page to tell us whether you’d welcome Chad Duell back as Michael Corinthos.

🧩 PLAY NOW 🧩

Take a quick break and play today’s soap opera puzzle! Drop your solve time in the comments below.

Want more? Click here: https://soapoperamagazine.com/games/puzzle/