Ex-RHONJ star Danielle Staub is dealt major blow in her plot for franchise return

   

Danielle Staub's dream of returning to Real Housewives of New Jersey seems like an unlikely reality. 

Despite expressing a strong desire to come back to the franchise amid Bravo's planned casting overhaul of the hit series, sources told TMZ that producers 'aren't sold' on having her join the cast.

At the moment, the team behind RHONJ is reportedly keen on moving forward with a 'new cast members and storylines.'

In an effort to 'move away from any heavy themes or toxic fighting,' production is focusing on casting a group of women that are 'positive' and 'loving.'

Considering the mother-of-two's history of pot stirring, fighting and gaslighting her cast mates, Staub is not necessarily in line with the show's new vision.

Danielle Staub's dream of returning to Real Housewives of New Jersey does not seem like a likely reality; seen in 2019

Still, the insider reminded TMZ that 'production is months away from making any final casting decisions' and has not ruled out any former Housewives from returning yet. 

The update comes after Staub, 62, admitted that she was finally ready to come back to the franchise for the third time while appearing on The Straightened Out podcast.

'I know I resigned last time and I said I would never return... yeah, I'd do it,' she said last week. 

Staub then insisted that she had no interest in playing a supporting role on the show, and would only come back if it's as a full time cast member.

'There will be no friend [role]. I will not be playing "friend" and I won't be there for anyone but me,' she said.

Hinting that she's ready to bring the drama upon her potential return, Staub added, 'All gloves are off now, by the way.'

The reality TV villain also said that she'd have no problem reuniting with fellow Jersey OG Teresa Giudice on the series, despite their falling out when Staub was last on the show in 2020.

'I think [Bravo] should bring me back to clean house. Reboot with Teresa and I like den mothers for the new girls,' she said.

Despite expressing a strong desire to come back to the franchise amid Bravo's planned casting overhaul of the hit series, sources told TMZ that producers 'aren't sold' on having her join the cast (seen with Margaret Josephs, Teresa Giudice, Melissa Gorga, Siggy Flicker, Dolores Catania in 2017)

Staub was arguably the most controversial member of The Real Housewives of New Jersey when the series launched in 2009.

She departed the show after just two seasons, before returning in a supporting capacity for seasons 8, 9, and 10.

Staub officially announced her exit in 2020 during an episode of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, where she said she would 'never' return to the franchise again.

Bravo currently has The Real Housewives of New Jersey 'on ice' as they figure out what to do with the series following a contentious 14th season that saw the cast completely divided into two teams.

'There are not going to be any decisions about what will or won't happen with the show until early next year,' a source told DailyMail.com in August.

At the moment, the team behind RHONJ is reportedly keen on moving forward with a 'new cast members and storylines'

In an effort to 'move away from any heavy themes or toxic fighting,' production is focusing on casting a group of women that are 'positive' and 'loving'

'There is not going to be any more filming of RHONJ for the remainder of the year. There's nothing planned. It's on ice.'

The current cast includes Teresa Giudice, Jennifer Aydin, Dolores Catania, Melissa Gorga, Margaret Josephs, Danielle Cabral and Rachel Fuda, as well as friends Jackie Goldschneider and Jennifer Fessler.

'Everybody is waiting to find out what's going to happen,' the source shared, adding that rumors of some of the cast already getting fired is 'not true.'

'The cast for the new season is not going to be decided anytime soon.

'Casting is not something Bravo is rushing into. It's not even going to start to take form until next year.'

The insider added: 'However, there are some cast members that are less likely to come back than others based on certain events that have unfolded this past season. But, for two or three cast members, it could be over for good.'

Considering the mother-of-two's history of pot stirring, fighting and gaslighting her cast mates, Staub is not in line with the show's new vision; pictured pulling Margaret Josephs by her hair during an explosive fight

Of all the Housewives franchises, RHONJ has aired some of the most intense epic screaming matches and brawls (Teresa Giudice pictured)

When pressed for a reason as to why everything is on hold, the source spilled, 'I think that they don't know what to do.

'They don't know what to do because it's almost like a puzzle where you're trying to put pieces together that make sense.

'And there's very few pieces of this puzzle that make sense for viewers right now.'

Meanwhile, a second source revealed to DailyMail.com that Andy Cohen is 'not ruling out anything' when it comes to what's next.

The current cast includes Teresa Giudice, Jennifer Aydin, Dolores Catania, Melissa Gorga, Margaret Josephs, Danielle Cabral and Rachel Fuda, as well as friends Jackie Goldschneider and Jennifer Fessler

'It can be a cast shakeup with only some cast members coming back, it can be rebooted, or RHONJ can be cancelled altogether – nothing is off the table,' the insider said.

'Bravo has not put a timeline on when filming will resume because, literally, no one knows what's going to happen and it's going to take time to figure out the next steps.'