‘Castle’ Season 9 News: Stana Katic Leaving, cast members and Andrew Marlowe disappointed

“Castle” Season 9 is likely to happen, according to reports, but Stana Katic (Kate Beckett) is leaving the ABC series due to budget constraints. For his part, Nathan Fillion (Rick Castle) reportedly said he would not return without Jon Huertas (Javier Esposito) and Seamus Dever (Kevin Ryan).

Twitter has been flooded with reactions from fans who are unhappy about the news that Katic is leaving the ABC procedural dramedy. Series creator Andrew W. Marlowe has chimed in, tweeting he is “heartbroken” by the news. (See a compilation of relevant tweets below.)

Tamala Jones (Lanie Parish) is also exiting “Castle” which could mean her story arc as Beckett’s best friend, Javi’s ex-girlfriend and 12th Precinct M.E. comes to an end by the Season 7 finale. It is not clear at this stage whether Katic and Jones would recur as special guests in “Castle” Season 9.

Like Marlowe, “Castle” cast member Jon Huertas said on Twitter that he is also heartbroken by the news and the manner by which it was delivered. Apparently, he had no idea that such a decision has been made. Huertas also brought up that he and Dever have not yet been approached in connection to “Castle” Season 9.

Meanwhile, Toks Olagundoye (Hayley Shipton) has also reacted on Twitter, mostly about fans who have bashed her in connection to the news that Stana Katic is leaving “Castle” along with Tamala Jones. Olagundoye tweeted she has no control over anything that happens in the ABC series.

‘Castle’ Season 9 completely changes series without Kate Beckett and Lanie Parish

Stana Katic has been quiet on Twitter about the news that she is not part of “Castle” Season 9, which in turn has yet to be officially sealed by ABC. In its report, however, Deadline quotes both Katic and ABC in connection to the news. In her statement, Katic focused on gratitude for the network and the fans.

“Rather than distract from what was an amazing experience, I would just like to say that I’m very grateful to ABC for giving me the opportunity to be a part of a much beloved show. Thank you to the fans,” Katic told Deadline.

Tamala Jones has addressed the issue on Twitter, and she shows no hard feelings over the latest development. In fact, she would be live tweeting “Castle” Season 8, Episode 18 (“Backstabber”). Nathan Fillion, who has not tweeted about Jones and Katic leaving, will also live tweet this week’s new episode (ABC original air date: April 18).Stana Katic celebrates her “Castle” memories on Twitter:

Here is “Castle” creator Andrew W. Marlowe reacting on the news of Stana Katic’s exit

Jon Huertas chimes in on Twitterverse about a ‘Castle’ Season 9 change

Seamus Dever thanks Stana Katic

Susan Sullivan: ‘Change allows growth’

Though Rick Castle’s beloved wife is leaving, it is assumed that Susan Sullivan and Molly Quinn will stay in the series as his mother and daughter, respectively. As of this writing, Quinn has not yet commented about Stana Katic’s departure on her Twitter feed.

UPDATE: Nathan Fillion has issued a statement about Stana Katic leaving "Castle." Here it is, straight from his own Twitter account:

UPDATE: Stana Katic is keeping it short, as far as reaction to her departure is concerned. Here's what she posted on Twitter: