The Crown has completed the next generation of the royal family for the third and fourth seasons.
Netflix's prestige drama will move ahead to the mid-1960s for its next set of episodes, meaning that Claire Foy has relinquished her crown as Queen Elizabeth II, as have co-stars Matt Smith (Prince Philip) and Vanessa Kirby (Princess Margaret).
Olivia Colman and Helena Bonham Carter were locked in to play the monarch and her sibling months ago, but producers have had trouble finding the next Prince Philip ever since original choice Paul Bettany dropped out.
[asset removed due to syndication rights]Now, that problem has been solved. Deadline reports that Netflix has closed a deal with Outlander and Game of Thrones favourite Tobias Menzies to replace Matt Smith as the middle-aged Prince Philip.
Menzies is one of the busiest actors in TV, playing both Frank Randall and his ancestor Jonathan 'Black Jack' Randall on the aforementioned Outlander and leading the cast of The Terror. You've probably seen him in Silent Witness, Catastrophe and The Night Manager in the last few years as well.
The 44-year-old actor also occasionally turns up in Game of Thrones as Edmure Tully. Just this week, Digital Spy asked him about the possibility of coming back for the final season so Ed could be freed from lifelong imprisonment.
"The honest answer is, I have no idea. He's obviously somewhere in a prison, he's still around alive somewhere. They're pretty stingy with their information and I've not heard anything from them," Menzies told us.
"I feel like they have so many stories to tie up, whether that's a story they'll want to go back to, I don't know."
If that call from Game of Thrones doesn't ever come, landing a two-season gig on a hugely popular series like The Crown isn't a bad consolation prize. The Crown's first two series are streaming now on Netflix.
Want up-to-the-minute entertainment news and features? Just hit 'Like' on our Digital Spy Facebook page and 'Follow' on our @digitalspy Twitter account and you're all set.
Night News Editor
Justin has been with Digital Spy since 2010, and in that time, has covered countless major news events for DS from the US.
He has worked previously as both a reporter and sub editor for the brand, prior to taking on the position of Night News Editor in 2016.
Over more than a decade, he has interviewed a wide-ranging group of public figures, from comedian Steve Coogan to icons from the Star Trek universe, cast members from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and reality stars from numerous Real Housewives cities and the Below Deck franchise. As a US contributor to Digital Spy, Justin has also been on the ground to cover major pop culture events like the Star Wars Celebration and the D23 Expo.
