The Bachelor's next star will reportedly be a face that isn't even familiar to Bachelor Nation yet.
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The Bachelor's Season 26 star will be a bachelor who will appear on this fall's season of The Bachelorette starring Michelle Young, according to The Hollywood Reporter sources.
RELATED LINK: MICHELLE YOUNG'S 'THE BACHELORETTE' SEASON 18 BACHELORS HAVE BEEN ANNOUNCED BY ABC -- MEET THE MEN! (PHOTOS)
Season 26 of The Bachelor is scheduled to begin filming later this month and premiere on ABC in January 2022.
Michelle's The Bachelorette season will premiere on ABC on October 19 and is currently in its final days of filming.
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Season 18 of The Bachelorette reportedly began filming at a California resort on July 30 and will wrap filming in Mexico this weekend, according to Reality Steve spoiler blogger Steve Carbone.
ABC has not yet formally announced the identities of the bachelors who are competing on Michelle's season of The Bachelorette, however the network did release a cast of 35 potential bachelors days before filming began in late July.
ABC began its current practice of publicly announcing each The Bachelor and The Bachelorette season's possible cast in 2019 as an apparent attempt to further vet each suitor's background before filming actually begins.
Beginning last year with Clare Crawley's seasons of The Bachelorette, they also began bringing extra potential bachelors to the season's filming location in case anyone tests positive for coronavirus during the quarantine period that must occur before production officially commences.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' COUPLES NOW: WHO DID 'THE BACHELOR' STARS AND THEIR BACHELORETTE PICKS ACTUALLY END UP MARRYING? (PHOTOS)
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Given a typical season of The Bachelor or The Bachelorette usually features around 30 suitors, some of the 35 men are not expected to actually appear on Michelle's season of The Bachelorette.
The reported selection of a Bachelorette Season 18 bachelor will come as a surprise to many The Bachelor and The Bachelorette viewers given most assumed The Bachelor's Season 26 star would come from Katie Thurston's 17th season of The Bachelorette, which aired its finale on ABC in August and ended with Katie giving her final rose to Blake Moynes.
Both Michelle and Katie originally competed on Season 25 of The Bachelor, which starred Matt James and aired on ABC earlier this year.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, The Bachelorette Season 17 bachelors Andrew Spencer and Greg Grippo were in fact on "the short list" to star as The Bachelor's Season 26 lead, however "the story" of the as-of-yet unidentified The Bachelorette Season 18 bachelor "resonated most with producers."
Last month, Carbone and The Sun newspaper had reported Greg -- who was accused of gaslighting Katie during a tense breakup conversation in which he unexpectedly dumped her only days before The Bachelorette's Season 17 final Rose Ceremony -- was closing a deal with ABC to star on The Bachelor's 26th season.
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"What I've been hearing the past 5 days or so regarding the next Bachelor are this...been told it's going to be Greg. Obviously it's never 'official' until ABC announces it (whenever that may be), but at this point I would be very surprised if it's not him," Carbone tweeted on August 19.
"They pick who they pick and there will always be people upset no matter what," Carbone wrote.
"He's a polarizing figure that will have people talking, which is what they want," he added of ABC and producers. "But by all accounts and everything I'm being told, he's your next Bachelor."
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW: WHOM DID 'THE BACHELORETTE' STARS AND THEIR BACHELOR PICKS ULTIMATELY END UP WITH?! (PHOTOS)
The Sun, who dubbed Greg a "risky choice," had also reported that the former aspiring actor was "closing a deal" to become the franchise's next leading man.
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"Execs have talked about Greg becoming The Bachelor since he left the show," according to a source close to the show.
"He would be one of, if not the most controversial pick and they know they will get backlash."
However, the source told The Sun that producers weren't afraid of getting people fired up.
The Bachelor creator and executive producer Mike Fleiss had also teased viewers would be "very happy" about next The Bachelor star pick.
"All I can tell you right now is that #BachelorNation will be very happy!" he tweeted on August 17. "Well, maybe not everybody ... #TheBachelor."
Later in August, Fleiss also suggested The Bachelor's Season 26 star had already signed his contract.
"Almost ready to announce your new #TheBachelor !!! Just gotta finish up some paperwork..." he tweeted, suggesting the franchise's next leading man has already signed on the dotted line.
Fleiss also tweeted that "the most important qualification" for being the Bachelor "is sincerity" and decisions regarding the next Bachelor have been "complicated."
Mike later clarified on Twitter that he was "waiting for final approval for the major announcement."
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
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