‘The Crown’ Finds Its Princess Diana for Seasons 5 and 6

Elizabeth Debicki will take over for Emma Corrin, who is playing the royal on drama’s upcoming fourth season

Elizabeth Debicki Princess Diana
Getty Images

Elizabeth Debicki has been cast as Princess Diana for the final two seasons of Netflix’s “The Crown,” the streaming service revealed Sunday.

The “Tenet” actress will portray the late royal on the Imelda Staunton-led Seasons 5 and 6, taking over for Emma Corrin, who is playing Diana on the drama’s upcoming fourth season.

“Princess Diana’s spirit, her words and her actions live in the hearts of so many,” Debicki said in a statement. “It is my true privilege and honour to be joining this masterful series, which has had me absolutely hooked from Episode One.”

Debicki will join the previously announced cast members for “The Crown’s” final two seasons, which include Staunton as Queen Elizabeth II (currently portrayed by Olivia Colman), Lesley Manville as Princess Margaret (presently played by Helena Bonham Carter), and Jonathan Pryce as Prince Philip (a role filled by Tobias Menzies for Seasons 3 and 4).

In July, Netflix and “The Crown” creator Peter Morgan revealed the series will run for six seasons after all, following their January announcement that Season 5 would be the drama’s final year — despite Morgan having stated for years that his vision for “The Crown” had always been a six-season run.

“As we started to discuss the storylines for Series 5, it soon became clear that in order to do justice to the richness and complexity of the story we should go back to the original plan and do six seasons,” Morgan said in a statement July 9. “To be clear, Series 6 will not bring us any closer to present day – it will simply enable us to cover the same period in greater detail.”

“The Crown” is expected to take a production hiatus before filming on Season 5 begins next June, meaning that installment won’t premiere until 2022.

The upcoming fourth season of “The Crown,” which is slated to debut later this year, will cover Queen Elizabeth and the British royal family during the Princess Diana era. Season 3 of “The Crown,” which launched last November, left off in 1977 at the Queen’s Silver Jubilee.

Along with her upcoming part in Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet,” Debicki’s recent credits include “Widows,” “The Cloverfield Paradox,” “The Tale” and “The Night Manager,” among others.

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.