Illness forced "Dawson's Creek" star James Van Der Beek to bow out of Monday night's cast reunion and cancer benefit, with “ridiculously overqualified” understudy Lin-Manuel Miranda now cast to take his spot. Van Der Beek, Katie Holmes, Joshua Jackson and Michelle Williams were set to do a table read of the "Dawson's" 1998 pilot at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in New York City. Van Der Beek was diagnosed with Stage 3 colorectal cancer in 2023. Watch NBC 4 free wherever you are WATCH HERE WATCH HEREFrom left, Michelle Williams, James Van Der Beek, Katie Holmes and Joshua Jackson starring in "Dawson's Creek" in 1997. I will be beaming and receiving from afar in a bed in Austin," Van Der Beek said.