It’s been just over three years since fans had to say goodbye to the Tanner family a second time after Netflix’s Fuller House came to an end. While the Full House revival included many familiar faces and callbacks to the beloved TGIF sitcom, the was a glaring hole in the cast, and that was the expected absence of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. The cast has opened up throughout the years about their feelings regarding the Olsen Twins not returning, and Dave Coulier was the latest to share his thoughts.
The Olsen Twins skyrocketed to superstardom at a young age when they were starring in Full House. After that, they went on to star in tons of movies and started a production company. These days aren't seen on screen much and they've moved into the world of fashion. When it came to the Fuller House reunion, they decided to not return, and Dave Coulier told Yahoo! Entertainment that the twins have it a bit different than the rest of the cast since they did start the show so young:
It was so sweet to see them and just share some time with them, you know, because they were babies and little girls when we did the show. I was an adult. But for them, imagine growing up, you know, on the Warner Brothers lot. I mean, we saw each other more than we saw our own family. So for them, I think there's a different perspective there.
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen were nine months old when they were cast as Michelle, meaning they spent basically the first eight years of their lives on the series. Since then, they haven't really participated in any reunions. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t want anything to do with Full House since they did attend Bob Saget’s memorial in 2022.
Considering the twins retired from acting over 10 years ago, it wasn’t surprising that they weren’t on Fuller House, but I think many of us were hoping they'd pop up.
Being a child star and starting so young, even before you can talk, is not easy. Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen were pretty much on the go for years, and being the youngest on the cast for the first five seasons as the show’s popularity grew probably made it even harder. Even though they did get to have family at work, as Elizabeth Olsen recalled being on the Full House set and seeing the audience and her sisters acting, being in that environment at a young age is likely taxing, and Dave Coulier understood it all:
Me, I was looking at it as, I'm gonna go to work each day and do the best job for them. It was life, you know, because we were hanging out after the show, we would all hang out on weekends, or go to birthday parties, or celebrate things, have barbecues, pool parties. So, you know, speaking with them — they had a little bit of a different experience. I mean, imagine starting a TV show when you're only nine months old.
With the Olsen Twins being so young on Full House, it sometimes made things hard, as John Stamos got them temporarily fired. Meanwhile, Fuller House poked fun at Mary-Kate and Ashley not appearing in the series, as it occasionally mentioned Michelle being too busy with her fashion empire to come home. It seems that everything is fine with them and the ensemble though, and while they didn't appear in the series, it’s nice to know they still support their castmates and vice versa.
A return for Michelle Tanner may not be in the cards any time if there’s another Full House spinoff, but things could always change. Since the Olsen Twins have been out of the game for a while and don’t seem to be in any rush to return to their acting roots, at least they’re not opposed to reuniting with their former co-stars. Fans can watch the fashion designers as Michelle on all eight seasons of Full House with a Max subscription.
