Is Richard Gere's Pretty Woman Character Dead? Julia Roberts Has A Theory

Julia Roberts may have many iconic rom-com roles to her name, but there's arguably none more memorable than her turn as callgirl Vivian Ward in "Pretty Woman." Directed by Gary Marshall, the film helped cement Roberts' status as a superstar. 

In the picture, wealthy businessman Edward Lewis (Richard Gere) hires sex worker Vivian to accompany him to meetings he has in Los Angeles. Complete opposites, the two slowly fall in love, resulting in one of the most memorable rom-coms from the '90s. Now, decades later, Roberts has commented on what she thinks happened to Gere's character. When asked by CBS Mornings if both Vivian and Edward would be together to this day, Roberts offered a shocking theory. "I think he passed away peacefully in his sleep from a heart attack, smiling," Roberts said. "And now she runs his business."  

While her theory about Gere's Edward is sort of morbid, it also feels in line with the film's direction. At the end of the classic, Edward realizes his faults and decides to fully commit to Vivian. It's a beautiful fairytale ending, and it makes perfect sense that Vivian would stick with Edward to the end, handling his business even after he dies. 

Legacy sequels are all the rage these days in Hollywood but don't expect a "Pretty Woman 2." While it's interesting that Julia Roberts has an idea of where her and Richard Gere's characters end up, the ship seems to have sailed for a second "Pretty Woman" outing. During a 2015 interview on Today (via The Hollywood Reporter) which reunited Roberts, Gere, and director Gary Marshall, the filmmaker candidly discussed why a part two to Vivian and Edwards' fairytale never manifested. "We made a pact a long time [ago] — when we did it," Marshall said. "We said, we're not doing 'Pretty Woman 2' unless we all do it together."

While it would certainly be interesting to see Roberts return to the role of Vivian as a modern-day girl boss embracing Edward's vast and diverse business empire, the fact that Marshall passed away in 2016 likely means it will never happen. Besides, "Pretty Woman" star Jason Alexander says that a "Pretty Woman" sequel already happened — kind of. "They talked about it for a while. If you ask the inner circle of the people who made it, they look at 'Runaway Bride' as the sequel," Alexander told US Weekly. The actor is, of course, talking about the Marshall-directed "Runaway Bride," which brought Gere and Roberts back together in 1999. "Even though it's not same story, they feel like that is the follow-up to 'Pretty Woman' because it's the same group of people, for the most part," Alexander added.

So, where does Roberts think her and Gere's "Runaway Bride" characters end up? "They stay together, [Richard Gere] doesn't die in this one," Roberts jokingly told CBS Mornings.