The first image of Imelda Staunton as Queen Elizabeth II for Season 5' of The Crown has been revealed. Production went underway this month for the popular series about Britain's most famous family.
This season now comes with a brand new cast to play the roles of the royals. Staunton takes over Olivia Colman's place as the queen, Jonathan Pryce takes the place of Tobias Menzies as Prince Philip, Lesley Manville steps in for Helena Bonham Carter as Princess Margaret, Elizabeth Debicki plays Princess Diana after Emma Corrin originated the role in Season 4, Dominic West is confirmed as Prince Charles after Josh O'Conner, and of course there will be many other new faces.
Season 5 will cover the John Major government years, the turmoil of Princess Diana's and Prince Charles' marriage, and the tragic death of Diana in 1997. Staunton spoke to the BBC earlier this year about her new role as the Queen. “I think my sort of extra challenge as if I needed it, is that I’m now doing the Queen that we’re a little more familiar with. With Claire Foy, it was almost history and now I’m playing one that people could say ‘she doesn’t do that,’ ‘she’s not like that,’ and that’s my personal bête noire,” she explained.
With the fifth season of The Crown on the way, the fourth season recently received 24 nominations at this year's Emmy awards, tying The Mandalorian for the most nominated show. In addition to many nominations in various acting categories, the show will also compete for best drama series.
Season 5 of The Crown will be on Netflix sometime in 2022. Check out Netflix's reveal of Staunton as Queen Elizabeth II below.