The Crown: Outlander's Tobias Menzies Cast as New Prince Philip
Paul Dailly
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The Crown is undergoing a royal refresh for the next two seasons.
With the series moving further into the royal timeline, it means that original stars such as Claire Foy and Matt Smith are being replaced because, well, they are apparently not old enough to play their characters anymore.
According to Deadline, the latest addition to the cast is Tobias Menzies, who has landed the role of Prince Philip on The Crown Season 3 and The Crown Season 4.
He will take over from Matt Smith who played the character during the first two seasons of the Netflix drama series.
Menzies is a seasoned TV veteran who has appeared in a string of prestige dramas. He has had roles in Outlander, Rome and even Game of Thrones.
Related: Olivia Colman Replaces Claire Foy on The Crown
If you feel like you've watched him on your TV screen in the last few days, that may be because he's a cast member of AMC's terrifying new drama series, The Terror.
Menzies joins Broadchurch star Olivia Colman who is taking over as Queen Elizabeth II. Claire Foy played the lead role for the first two seasons.
There were several reports earlier this year that Paul Bettany was in talks to take on the role of Philip, but the negotiations fell through.
Seriously, though. Just when we started to worry about who might play the role of Philip and if he could possibly live up to the tremendous job Smith did during the first and second seasons, Menzies lands the role.
If you haven't seen him in any of the shows above, we're going to recommend his dual role from Outlander. Not only did he unequivocally separate two characters so you had no problem judging them separately, he made the role of Frank -- who wasn't sympathetic in the books -- come alive in ways we'd never expected.
We cannot wait to see what he will do with Prince Philip against the impeccable Colman.
The series will enter production this summer and will likely return to the streaming giant at some point before the end of 2018.
Okay, The Crown Fanatics!
What are your thoughts on this casting news?
Are you on board?
Hit the comments.
Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.
