Writer Peter Morgan recently spoke with Variety about his new Netflix series, The Crown, which stars Claire Foy, Matt Smith and John Lithgow. In the interview, Morgan revealed Smith was his first and only choice to play Prince Philip, and hinted at the possibility of continuing the show into Seasons 3 and 4.
While casting Doctor Who’s Smith as Philip may have come as a surprise to some, Morgan was unable to see anyone else in the role. “A number of other actors had read for the part and absolutely nobody interested me. Matt was the hardest one for us to pin down, to do a deal with. I just said to the casting director, 'He’s the only one.' I don’t care if this plays to his agent’s advantage. It’s him or nobody. Don’t posture. We won’t have a show. I’m afraid I gave them no negotiating position. I’m sure Matt’s being hideously overpaid as a result. He was the only one,” Morgan said.
At the moment, The Crown is slated to run for two 10-episodes seasons on Netflix. However, back in October, Morgan floated the idea (again to Variety) of extending the series through the tumultuous 70s and 80s, placing the monarch in the context of Margaret Thatcher’s highly divisive stint as Prime Minister, the rise of punk subculture, the miner’s strike of 1984-5, and the public’s fascination with Princess Diana.
Morgan again mentioned the possibility of extending the series to Variety on Thursday. “There’s a tremendous conversation, a tremendous will to do it. And I was saying to Netflix, let’s do it only if the show has a significant enough footprint, if it resonates enough with people. You can’t tell yet. It needs to go out. I think the show has its real value when you watch episode after episode, the deeper it gets,” he said.
Still, Morgan acknowledged it would be difficult to continue the current series with Foy and Smith. “If the show’s a success and we continue in Season 3 and 4 we’ll have to recast completely and that I’m nervous about. As she gets older I’ll have to have other actors take over. That will make me nervous about finding who’s good, who’s bad. Now I could write for any of them immediately. Of course then you’d be finding new actors who’d be bringing new rhythms to the speech. New inflections, new strengths and weaknesses.” Morgan was quick to dismiss the idea of aging the current actors through the use of makeup or CGI, bluntly stating, “They would look ridiculous. It would be wrong.”
The Crown debuts Friday, Nov. 4 on Netflix in North America. The series will hit the streaming platform at 12:01 a.m. PDT, or 3:01 a.m. EDT., so night owls are in for a bit of a treat on Thursday.
