“Harry Potter” actress Imelda Staunton will wear “The Crown” for the Netflix drama’s final season. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the epic saga of Queen Elizabeth II, her reign, and her family will end with Season 5, a change from creator Peter Morgan’s original six-season vision.
“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,” he said.
Staunton will succeed Olivia Colman as the Queen in Season 5. The latter recently took home a Golden Globe for her performance in Season 3 and will reprise the role for the upcoming fourth season. Claire Foy starred as Elizabeth II in Seasons 1 and 2, winning an Emmy, a Golden Globe, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards for her work.
The Foy seasons followed the Windsor family from the Queen’s post-WWII marriage and succession to the early ’60s, where Colman took the story over. She’s set to lead “The Crown” through to the ’90s.
Morgan commented that he is “absolutely thrilled” that Staunton will be “taking ‘The Crown’ into the 21st Century.”
Staunton seems just as excited to join the hit series. “I have loved watching ‘The Crown’ from the very start,” she said. “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.”
The series’ ensemble cast currently includes Helena Bonham Carter, Tobias Menzies, and Josh O’Connor. Vanessa Kirby, Victoria Hamilton, and Matt Smith co-starred in past seasons.
“The Crown” premiered in 2016 and its most recent installment, Season 3, launched in November. Season 4 is expected to hit later this year. The show has netted 26 Emmy nominations during its run, and just last week won the SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.
Staunton received a BAFTA Award and an Oscar nomination for her titular performance in abortion rights drama “Vera Drake.” Her recent credits include the “Downton Abbey” movie and “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil.” She also stars in Romola Garai’s feature directorial debut, “Amulet,” a horror pic that premiered at Sundance last weekend.
