The Crown Completes Filming Season 4 Early During Coronavirus Pandemic
Looks like fans of The Crown have something they can look forward to in the coming months.
The award-winning Netflix show has wrapped up filming its fourth season early, despite filming during the coronavirus pandemic, reports Entertainment Weekly.
While other shows were starting to shut down early due to concerns of the virus, The Crown was already nearing the end of filming for its fourth season. As a result, the production pushed to finish and did so a few days earlier than anticipated, which could indicate the show will likely air sometime later this year.
Award-winning actress Olivia Colman will come back to reprise her role as Queen Elizabeth, along with Tobias Menzies as Prince Philip, Helena Bonham Carter as Princess Margaret, Erin Doherty as Princess Anne and Josh O’Connor as Prince Charles. The upcoming season will also introduce newcomer Emma Corrin, who plays Princess Diana.
RELATED: The Crown Will End After Season 5 — and They’ve Cast Imelda Staunton as the Final Queen Elizabeth!
Sophie Mutevelian/Netflix
Splash News The Crown cast
The fourth season will be the second to last as the show’s creator Peter Morgan revealed he plans to stop the series after five seasons.
“At the outset I had imagined The Crown running for six seasons but now that we have begun work on the stories for season five it has become clear to me that this is the perfect time and place to stop,” Morgan said in a statement released in January. “I’m grateful to Netflix and Sony for supporting me in this decision.”
The show has also cast their final Queen Elizabeth: Imelda Staunton will succeed Claire Foy (seasons 1 and 2) and Olivia Colman (seasons 3 and 4) in the royal role.
RELATED: Emma Corrin Perfectly Channels Princess Diana While Filming for The Crown Season 4 — See the Photos!
Imelda Staunton will play Queen Elizabeth II in the fifth and final season of The Crown. pic.twitter.com/hUOob58A9p
— The Crown (@TheCrownNetflix) January 31, 2020
“I have loved watching The Crown from the very start,” said Staunton, who has earned five Olivier awards and a BAFTA award. “As an actor it was a joy to see how both Claire Foy and Olivia Colman brought something special and unique to Peter Morgan’s scripts. I am genuinely honored to be joining such an exceptional creative team and to be taking The Crown to its conclusion.”
RELATED: The Crown’s Helena Bonham Carter Shares Thoughts on Real-Life Royals Stepping Down at SAG Awards
Courtesy Des Willie/Netflix Olivia Colman as Queen Elizabeth
Though an official release date has not yet been revealed — only that the fourth season will premiere this year — there are rumors the fourth season will drop in November or December.
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Although Meghan Markle and Prince Harry‘s exit from royal life and the scandal surrounding Prince Andrew’s friendship with Jeffrey Epstein have dominated headlines in recent months, the storylines will not make it to The Crown — and it was never the intention to cover the royal family up to the modern era.
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