Lesley Manville Cast As Princess Margaret In 5th & Final Season Of ‘The Crown’
‘The Crown‘ still has another season to air before their final cast change, but the Netflix series is already ramping up the cast for the 5th and final season.
Back in January, it was announced that the 5th Season would be the last for the royal drama, and would see Imelda Staunton take over the role of Queen Elizabeth II. She will be joined by Lesley Manville, who takes on the part of Princess Margaret.
‘The Crown’ tells the inside story of two of the most famous addresses in the world – Buckingham Palace and 10 Downing Street – and the intrigues, love lives and machinations behind the great events that shaped the second half of the 20th century. Season 3, which recently launched on the streaming service saw Olivia Colman take over the role of Queen, as she faces a rapidly changing Britain, whilst her family continues to struggle against the needs of the monarchy and the wants of their fracturing personal lives.
Rather than keep the same cast across all five seasons and use makeup to age them, the producers opted to switch out the actors ever two seasons for new stars of a more appropriate age. Vanessa Kirby played the part of Princess Margaret for seasons one and two, with Helena Bonham Carter stepping in for season three, and the upcoming fourth season. Lesley Manville will take over for a single final season. Whilst we know the rest of the cast will also change, the only person we know that has been announced for future seasons so far is Gillian Anderson, who will appear in Season 4 playing former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
“I could not be happier to be playing Princess Margaret,” commented the actress. “The baton is being passed on from two formidable actresses and I really don’t want to let the side down. Furthermore, to play siblings with my dear friend Imelda Staunton will be nothing short of a complete joy.”
Manville has starred in a host of tv and film roles including the ‘Maleficent’ movies, Mike Newell’s ‘Dance with a Stranger’, and Paul Thomas Anderson’s historical drama ‘Phantom Thread’ which landed her an Oscar nomination. She has also frequently collaborated with acclaimed director Mike Leigh on films such as ‘Secrets & Lies’, ‘Vera Drake’ and ‘Mr. Turner’. On the tv side, Manville starred in miniseries ‘Fleming’, the period drama ‘Harlots’, and the sitcom ‘Mum’. More recently she appeared in BBC’s ‘World on Fire’, Lennie James’ Sky Atlantic drama ‘Save Me’, and the new versions of ‘Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads’.
If you’ve been following ‘The Crown’ from when it was first revealed, you will know it was initially announced that the show would run for six seasons. However, when it came to writing the fifth season, Morgan, not Netflix, changed his mind about the length of the drama. “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 commented. “I’m grateful to Netflix and Sony for supporting me in this decision.”
The 4th Season did manage to wrap filming just before the pandemic lockdown in March, so principal photography is complete. The series usually airs around November/December time on Netflix, so hopefully, that should mean it is still on track to broadcast in late 2020.
‘The Crown‘ Seasons 1 to 3 are available to stream on Netflix right now.
