This Avengers Alum Is Joining The White Lotus Season 3
Carrie Coon is assembling for a tropical trip to The White Lotus.
The actress—who plays Proxima Midnight in the Avengers films—has officially been cast in season three of the HBO drama, Max announced on X (formerly known as Twitter) Jan. 9.
Carrie reposted news of her casting on Instagram, also giving a shoutout to the show's creator Mike White and his prior HBO show with Laura Dern. As she put it, "Long live Enlightened!!!"
Carrie, 42, previously appeared on HBO's The Leftovers and is currently starring in the network's The Gilded Age. She is also known for her work in Gone Girl, The Post and Ghostbusters: Afterlife.
The Emmy nominee is joining Iron Man's Leslie Bibb and Harry Potter's Jason Isaacs in season three of the vacation drama, along with Parker Posey, Dom Hetrakul, Michelle Monaghan and Tayme Thapthimthong. Season one's Natasha Rothwell is also returning.
The series will begin filming in Thailand in February.
And according to White Lotus alum Jennifer Coolidge, filming on location is very important to the series.
"There's nothing more vulnerable than being on a boat with a bunch of people that don't want you to survive," she told The Hollywood Reporter last year. "If we'd shot it on a soundstage, it wouldn't have been the same—because I didn't even have to imagine much. I already felt vulnerable."
And while Jennifer's character Tanya fell off a boat and seemingly died in season two, the creator vows to continue having Easter Eggs from past seasons in the new episodes.
"It would be easy to just be full-on anthology, but I think it's more fun to have little threads through the show," Mike told the outlet. "If the show goes on for a couple of seasons, it would be fun to have an all-star season."
He noted that there will be "a fresh mystery" each time around. "People maybe expect that," Mike added. "But I don't feel constrained by expectation. It's fun."
And what about Natasha reprising her role as spa manager Belinda from season one?
"Mike must have some juicy stuff for her," Jennifer teased. "I think that will be the most interesting storyline of all: whatever's happened to Natasha's character."
Dip your toes into the rest of the details about season three of The White Lotus.
Avengers' Carrie Coon, Iron Man's Leslie Bibb and Harry Potter's Jason Isaacs are set to star in season three. Parker Posey, Dom Hetrakul, Michelle Monaghan and Tayme Thapthimthong are also joining the White Lotus cast.
Natasha Rothwell is coming back! The Insecure actress played spa manager Belinda in season one.
Season three will take place in Thailand, the network announced in January 2024.
After wrapping production on The White Lotus' second season in Sicily, creator Mike White hinted that he already had a destination for season three in mind.
"The first season highlighted money and the second season is sex," he said. "I think the third season, it would be maybe a satirical, funny look at death, Eastern religion and spirituality. It feels like it could be a rich tapestry to do another round."
The end of The White Lotus' second season still left some untied threads, particularly when it comes to the nefarious dealings of Tanya's (Jennifer Coolidge) husband Greg (Jon Gries).
However, Mike White suggested those questions might get answered sooner rather than later.
"I think as far as like, what happens to Greg and the conspiracy of Tanya's death, it's possible that I think Portia (Haley Lu Richardson) is scared enough to just leave it alone," White said to HBO after the season two finale, "but the fact that all of those guys die on the boat, it feels like there's gotta be somebody who's gonna track it back down to Greg. But maybe you'll have to wait to find out what happens."
The second season introduced viewers to sex-addicted producer Dominic Di Grasso, played by Michael Imperioli, traveling with his son Albie (Adam DiMarco) and father Bert (F. Murray Abraham).
While it's unclear if Michael has actually had conversations about reprising his role in season three—he'd certainly jump at the chance.
"Who knows, maybe there'll be another White Lotus season where Dominic comes with his wife and they patch it all up!" Michael suggested to Esquire in December. "I don't want to think about it too much. Because the idea of that makes me so happy. I don't want to be disappointed. I would want nothing more than that."
Hey, if that means we'd get to meet Laura Dern, who voiced Dominic's wife in season two, we're all for it!
In July 2022, Connie Britton—who played businesswoman Nicole Mossbacher in season one—revealed that she and Mike White had already discussed her potential return.
"He wanted me to be in the second season, and there was an idea that I loved for the character," Connie told Deadline in July 2022. "Our intention is to do it in the third season. A piece of casting didn't work in the second season and we're hoping to that in the third season."
When asked about the idea by E! News in January, Connie simply said, "Listen, my lips are sealed."
After Tanya—spoiler alert!—killed a bunch of people and then fell to her death in the season two finale, it stands to reason that Jennifer Coolidge probably won't be returning to The White Lotus for the third season in a row—even in ghost form.
"He sort of sticks to his guns," Jennifer said of Mike White in an interview with E! News Jan. 17. "He's an amazing friend, but I think he made his decision. He wanted a big, dramatic, Italian, you know, operatic ending for White Lotus 2, and he wanted to sacrifice Tanya."
May she rest in peace.
Simply put: It's still going to be a while.
Season three will start filming in February 2024, so if you're craving some devious resort behavior, you'll have to settle for a re-watch of the first two seasons of The White Lotus, which are available to stream on HBO Max.