“The Crown”: Does the death of Elizabeth II affect the future of the series?

“The Crown”: Does the death of Elizabeth II affect the future of the series?

Queen Elizabeth II died this Thursday at the age of 96 and her life has been the subject of many productions, such as “The Crown”, an ongoing Netflix series. Now, with the death of the monarch, will the future of the series suffer?

Having celebrated her Platinum Jubilee, reaching 70 years of reign, Queen Elizabeth II, who inherited the British crown after the death of her father, King George VI, in 1952, will now be succeeded by her eldest son, King Charles III.

In the period of Elizabeth II’s reign, the world and the UK went through several periods of profound change in society, politics and the economy, with her 70 years as queen spanning a period from the Cold War to Brexit. the departure of the United Kingdom of the European Union.

Thus, with so many events involving the queen and her time as British monarch, several productions have been created to portray her life and family, from film to television, from documentaries to fiction of the life of the queen and family. British royal. Most recently, the recent history of the British crown was told in Netflix’s Emmy-winning drama series The Crown.

Where is “The Crown”?

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“The Crown” tells the story of the reign of Elizabeth II. As this period spanned seven decades, different groups of actors were used to play the main characters of this story in different eras. While Claire Foy and Matt Smith starred at the start of the series as young Elizabeth and Phillip, the two were played by Olivia Colman and Tobias Menzies in seasons 3 and 4 of the series.

Season 5 of the series is currently slated for release on Netflix in November, while season 6 is already in development. The showrunner and lead screenwriter of the series, Peter Morgan, has announced that he intends to “temporarily stop shooting” the series, out of respect for the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

Season 4 ended on a cliffhanger, with Prince Charles and Princess Diana, played by Josh O’Connor and Emma Corin respectively, drifting further and further away from the crown.

What will happen in the fifth season

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Season 5 will feature an entirely new cast, with Imelda Staunton and Jonathan Pryce lining up to play previous versions of Elizabeth and Phillip, and Dominic West and Elizabeth Debicki as Charles and Diana. Additionally, Leslie Manville will give birth to Princess Margaret, the Queen’s sister, in this new phase. This new season is expected to cover events spanning the early to mid-1990s.

Whether or not season five will include Princess Diana’s death in 1997 remains to be seen, or if this pivotal event in British crown history will be left for season six. Several actors were added to the cast over this period of time, including Khalid Abdalla as Dodi Fayed, Diana’s mistress who died next to her in the same car accident.

Additionally, Bertie Carvel was cast as Prime Minister Tony Blair, who served as England’s political leader between 1997 and 2007. Prince William will be played by Senan West, the real-life son of Dominic West (who will be Prince Charles in this new phase).

It is very likely that the death of Princess Diana and all the repercussions and controversies surrounding her death will remain until the end of the fifth season, and possibly even the beginning of the sixth season.

What comes next?

Despite the fact that the production of the sixth season is suspended for a short time in honor of the death of Elizabeth II, the season which is seen as the last has already added several important members to the cast.

Staunton, Pryce, West and Carvel will return for their respective lead roles and recently Netflix cast Rufus Kampa for the role of Prince Harry and Ed McVey for a slightly older version of Prince William. Additionally, Meg Bellamy has joined the cast as Kate Middleton, his fiancée and William and his future bride.

As William and Harry will grow up during the sixth season, it is possible to expect the final season to cover the late 90s and early 21st century.

Peter Morgan, showrunner of the series, has already commented that the sixth season will be the last of the series, but it is always possible that he changes his mind. Given that William, Harry and Kate’s actors are young, it’s unlikely the series will be about royal weddings and Harry’s separation from the royal family.

Should Morgan change her mind, it is possible that two new seasons will cover events up to the queen’s death. However, closeness to reality can be a complicating factor and the showrunner may choose not to attempt to fictionalize events that are still in development.

So for now, Queen Elizabeth II’s death is unlikely to impact “The Crown,” after her death comes many years after the series’ expected finale, which is expected to be in the early 2000s.

But it’s possible that having one last moment of reign is tempting for the showrunner and for Netflix. It would thus be possible to close the series with the death of the queen who becomes a point of arrival, after having started it at the beginning of Elizabeth’s trajectory.

The first 4 seasons of “The Crown” are available on Netflix, while the fifth season will arrive in streaming on November 15th this year.

The post “The Crown”: Does the death of Elizabeth II affect the future of the series? first appeared on Digital Look.

Source: Olhar Digital

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