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When Steve Burton was fired from General Hospital, speculation abounded about his potential replacement. Credible sources suggested that Trevor St. John would be in the running to replace Burton in the role of Jason Morgan. Burton played Jason for more than 30 years, off and on, until his failure to comply with ABC’s vaccine mandate got him fired for good. But after much speculation, sources have confirmed that Burton’s role will not be cast — and that Jason Morgan is, for all intents and purposes, dead.

Steve Burton was fired from ‘General Hospital’

In a video posted to his Instagram Stories on November 23, Steve Burton confirmed he was fired from General Hospital.

“Hey guys — I know there’s been a lot of rumors and speculations about me and General Hospital,” he said. “And I wanted you to hear it from me personally. Unfortunately, [the production] has let me go because of the vaccine mandate. I did apply for my medical and religious exemptions. And, both of those were denied.”

Burton, however, didn’t make it clear when he applied for the medical and religious exemptions in question. Fans will also recall that Burton was diagnosed with COVID-19 in August 2021, forcing him to step away from the production for a time.

Trevor St. John was speculated to be recast in the role

Soaps.com spoke directly to the higher-ups at General Hospital about what’s going to happen to Jason Morgan in the coming episodes. And while they were careful not to disclose too much about what will unfold on Cassadine Island, it was ultimately revealed that Jason was killed off, for all intents and purposes.

This began speculation that Trevor St. John, a soap legend best known for his role on One Life to Live, would step into the role. Burton and St. John have more than a passing resemblance to one another. It would be easy to just have St. John step into the role and act as if nothing happened — or, say that he had plastic surgery.

But even if things don’t go so far as to say there was “plastic surgery,” it wouldn’t be the first time someone completely different stepped into a role with no explanation. After all, look at Charles Shaughnessy stepping right into the role of Victor Cassadine.

But ‘GH’ execs confirmed that Jason Morgan won’t be recast

Ultimately, it seems the speculation — for now — is a dead issue.

According to Variety, General Hospital currently has no plans to recast Jason Morgan, either with Trevor St. John or with anyone else. However, it’s worth noting that the outlet didn’t get a response from anyone at ABC or at the production company. What’s more, “when asked by Variety whether that line indicated that Jason could potentially return — either played by a vaccinated Burton, or another actor — a spokesperson for “General Hospital” did not respond,” reported the outlet.

Certainly, soap operas have brought a wide variety of characters back from the dead under much worse circumstances. Sometimes, their original actors come back to play them. Other times, the role is completely recast — such as the time that Thorsten Kaye replaced Ronn Moss on The Bold and the Beautiful. We’ll just have to tune in to upcoming episodes of General Hospital to see what, ultimately, they do with the Jason Morgan storyline.

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