All hail the new Queen!
Netflix has released the first image of Imelda Staunton as Queen Elizabeth II from the fifth and penultimate season of The Crown, which recently began filming in the U.K. with the Sony-owned Brit banner Left Bank Pictures.
Staunton replaces Emmy-nominated Olivia Colman for seasons five and six, with Lesley Manville swapping shoes with Helena Bonham-Carter as Princess Margaret, Dominic West replacing Josh O’Connor as Prince Charles, Elizabeth Debicki replacing Emma Corrin’s Princess Diana and Jonathan Pryce taking over from Tobias Menzies as Prince Philip.
Last month it was confirmed that Johnny Lee Miller, best known for Trainspotting and Elementary, will play former British Prime Minister John Major, whose seven-year tenure as leader between 1990 and 1997 the season will follow. Gillian Anderson, who played Major’s predecessor Margaret Thatcher for season four, won a Golden Globe for her performance (alongside wins for O’Connor and Corrin).
The fourth season of The Crown recently scored 24 Emmy nominations, tied with The Mandalorian for the series with the most nominations this year.
The Crown has become one of Netflix’s most defining prestige dramas since it first aired in 2016, winning numerous awards and coming to underline the company’s commitment to big-budget production spend in the U.K., where it now has a major presence.
