Installing ipympl without matplotlib ?

Hi,
Apparently, to use ipympl with Jupyter, one needs to install it in the kernel that runs the jupyterhub:
https://github.com/matplotlib/ipympl/issues/547

but that also installs matplotlib, which is a no go.

Can we install ipympl *without* installing matplotlib, so that our users can install whatever matplotlib they want ?

Thanks

The issue names no files or tests; start by reproducing ipympl installation in a Jupyter kernel and inspect the package dependency metadata. Done means ipympl can be installed without forcing a matplotlib installation while remaining usable with a user-selected matplotlib version.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.