New 'Legally Blonde' prequel series to feature James Van Der Beek's final role

Audiences will soon get to see James Van Der Beek's final acting role.

The "Dawson's Creek" star, who died in February at 48 from cancer, marked his last role as an actor in the upcoming "Legally Blonde" prequel series, "Elle."

In "Elle," which follows Elle Woods' journey through high school, Van Der Beek plays Dean Wilson, a new mayoral candidate and current school district superintendent, according to Amazon.

"Elle" producers paid tribute to the late actor at the show's premiere this week in New York City.

"James told me that acting allowed him to be someone and forget the pain he was in," co-executive producer and co-showrunner Caroline Dries said in a video shared by People.

Dries continued, "But even off camera, James appeared to be buoyant and happy. He brought his daughters to set. He sat with us on plastic folding chairs in Video Village. He made us laugh, he told us stories, and he showed us nothing but kindness and gratitude toward the crew."

"This would be James' last role," she added. "Our cast gave him the space to feel that joy."

In a separate interview with People, "Elle" co-executive producer and co-showrunner Laura Kittrell talked about Van Der Beek's character and said, "When we were conceiving of that character, we always thought it would be so fun to have somebody who did feel like more of a '90s throwback."

"He was just so fun and game and had such a good energy and positive outlook on set," she added.

Amazon announced in May 2025 that Van Der Beek was cast in the new series. At the time, Van Der Beek took to Instagram to share the news.

"So, this is exciting… I'm going back to work for a bit," he captioned a post. "Super excited to join this awesome cast in such a fun project."

He added, "Almost as excited as my wife and girls are that I'm doing this 😍."

The news about him being cast in the series came months after he announced that he was diagnosed with Stage 3 colorectal cancer.