Jesse Metcalfe has high hopes for the long-awaited sequel to his 2006 rom-com, John Tucker Must Die. 

On Wednesday, Metcalfe, 45, walked the red carpet at the Hollywood premiere of Netflix’s new drama Ripley — ahead of its April 4 debut — and he spoke with ET’s Denny Directo about the sequel, which he recently teased during a panel Q&A at a Chicago fan expo last month.

“It may live on,” Metcalfe said. “I’m hopeful. I think this script that I’ve read is a great jumping-off point. It’s really well executed.”

The fact that Metcalfe has actually read a script for the sequel is encouraging news for fans after the actor previously revealed that he “heard rumors” about the script, but didn’t confirm that he’d actually seen it himself.

Metcalfe also gave “kudos” to his co-star, Arielle Kebbel, who he credited for “developing it and pushing this along.”

“I think everybody’s up for it, so hopefully it’ll happen,” said Metcalfe. While it seems Kebbel and Sophia Bush would be game — as they were with Metcalfe when he first teased the sequel at the fan expo — he wasn’t able to confirm for sure whether co-stars Ashanti and Brittany Snow would sign on.

“I can’t speak for them, but I know that they’re in the script,” Metcalfe shared.

As for the idea of the project as a whole, the actor said he’d be “very excited” to get a chance to work on it. 

“I think it’d be cool. They rebooted Mean Girls… I think it makes sense, you know? I think we’re kind of in a Y2K moment right now,” he shared. “There’s definitely an appetite for it. So yeah, it feels good.”

During the fan expo late last month, Metcalfe divulged that the sequel (or possible reboot) is in the early stages.

“I’ve heard rumors of this script — there’s a script,” Metcalfe told fans in a video posted to TikTok. “Apparently, it’s amazing.” At the time, he said that he had not read it, but that he would “definitely love to be a part of it.”

Kebbel, meanwhile, chimed in and shared that she had read the script and that it “does involve all of the OG cast.”

She added that Metcalfe’s devious character “may or may not get a chance to change” and that it could be “very exciting.”

The original film follows three teenage girls — Heather (Ashanti), Beth (Bush) and Carrie (Kebbel) — who discover they are all dating the same guy, John Tucker (Metcalfe). To get back at him, the three teens team up with the school’s new girl, Kate (Snow), to embarrass him publicly for cheating on all of them. Penn Badgley plays Scott Tucker, the nerdy and lovable brother of Metcalfe’s character. 

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