Dawson's Creek's James Van der Beek makes surprise appearance at reunion after dropping out

Dawson's Creek's James Van der Beekhas left fans in shock after making a surprise virtual appearance at the Dawson's Creek reunion on Monday, after he previously dropped out due to illness amid his cancer battle.

James, 48, showed up via a video at the Richard Rogers Theatre in New York City for the charity event, where the cast of Dawson's Creek reunited after 22 years. This was the first reunion in over two decades, and James joined in a pre-recorded video.

The event was to benefit F Cancer and featured Katie Holmes, Joshua Jackson, and Michelle Williams delivering a live reading of the pilot episode. Many other iconic actors were also in attendance, including Busy Philipps, Meredith Monroe, Kerr Smith, Nina Repeta, Mary Beth Peil, John Wesley Shipp and Mary-Margaret Humes.

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James Van der Beek, who played the memorable character of Dawson Leery, said in the video: “I have been looking forward to this night for months and months ever since my angel Michelle Williams said she was putting it together. I can't believe I'm not there. I can't believe I don't get to see my cast mates, my beautiful cast in person.”

He added: “And I just want to stand on that stage and thank every single person in the theatre for being here tonight. From the cast to the crew to everybody who's doing anything and has been so generous, and especially every single last one of you, you are the best fans in the world.

"Thank you for coming. It's just absolutely humbling just how much you did for this night, and I just want to say thank you. Thank you to every single person here.”

He finished off by introducing his replacement for the evening, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and joked that his kids would consider the swap an ‘upgrade’. His six children were in attendance as well as his wife Kimberly. The couple share Olivia, 14, Joshua, 12, Annabel, 10, Emilia, 8, and Gwendolyn, 6, and Jeremiah, 3.

James, who was diagnosed with Stage 3 colorectal cancer in August 2023, was initially supposed to be at the event, but took to Instagram a few days before to reveal "two stomach viruses knocked me out of commission".

In a heartfelt message, James told his fans: “This is the evening I’d been looking forward to MOST since my angel Michelle Williams said she was putting it together, way back in January… So you can imagine how gutted I was when two stomach viruses conspired to knock me out of commission and keep me grounded at the worst possible moment.

"Despite every effort… I won’t get to be there. I won’t get to stand on that stage and thank every soul in the theater for showing up for me, and against cancer, when I needed it most."

The actor previously opened up about his cancer diagnosis and said the cancer will be a 'process for the rest of his life'. When James first revealed the news last year, he told fans he was "privately dealing" with the diagnosis and was taking precautionary steps to "resolve it".

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