“The Crown” has found its final Prince Philip. For the Netflix show’s final two seasons, Oscar-nominated actor Jonathan Pryce has been cast as the Duke of Edinburgh.
READ MORE: ‘The Crown’ Will Take An Extended Filming Hiatus With Season 5 Coming In 2022
Pryce has been on a roll in recent years, having already played kings, a cardinal, the Pope, and even the High Sparrow in “Game of Thrones,” so adding Prince Philip to his repertoire shouldn’t come as a huge surprise.
In a statement via the official Twitter page for “The Crown,” Pryce said “The positive experience I had making ‘The Two Popes‘ has given me the confidence to tackle the daunting prospect of playing Prince Philip.”
Jonathan Pryce will be taking over from fellow “Game of Thrones” alum Tobias Menzies, who portrayed the Queen’s husband in seasons three and in the upcoming fourth season — the role was originated by former “Doctor Who” star and definitely not “The Rise of Skywalker” actor Matt Smith. Pryce will star opposite Imelda Staunton, who was previously cast as Queen Elizabeth II. The casting news comes just over a month after showrunner Peter Morgan confirmed that the Netflix drama will end after its sixth season, expanding from the original plan of ending after season five.
“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 previously said in a statement. “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.”