The 'Avengers: Age of Ultron' star reportedly has been approached to play the character on the Golden Globe-winning series, replacing Matt Smith.
- Jan 23, 2018
AceShowbiz - It seems like "The Crown" has found its new Prince Philip. A new report suggests that Paul Bettany is currently in talks to portray the British prince in season 3 of the Netflix series.
Should he close the deal with the series, the "Manhunt: Unabomber" actor will take over the role from Matt Smith, who portrayed the character in the first two seasons of the period drama.
Smith previously hinted that he knew who would be his successor. During his appearance on "Late Night with Seth Meyers", the actor said, "I don't want to speculate too much, but..he's brilliant, if it's the person I think it might be. And he's incredibly handsome as well. I've morphed into someone far better-looking that I."
Prior to this, "The Crown" has locked down a new actress who will take on the role of Queen Elizabeth II, replacing Claire Foy. "The Lobster" star Olivia Colman was announced to be the actress to play Her Royal Highness for the expected third and fourth seasons.
Colman will be joined by Helena Bonham Carter. The "Alice in Wonderland" star was cast to play the Queen's sister Princess Margaret, a character which was portrayed by Vanessa Kirby in the first two seasons of the Netflix series. The replacement is required as series creator Peter Morgan wants to portray the characters better as they age.
"This is going to take Queen Elizabeth from age 29 to, presumably, the current day. We'll see it lay out over decades," Netflix content chief Ted Sarandos previously said. "The idea is to do this over six decades, in six seasons presumably, and make the whole show [run] over eight to 10 years."
Given the idea, the cast will be replaced in every two seasons to suit the characters' age. With each season following roughly a decade in the life of Queen Elizabeth, it is expected that the new season, which hasn't been officially ordered by the streaming giant, will tackle the life of the Queen from 1957 to 1964.
