The Crown’s Matt Smith Hopes To One Day Return As Young Prince Philip

Could it be that Matt Smith (and Claire Foy?) will one day return to The Crown?

The buzzworthy Netflix period drama is about to undergo a major sea change, with an entirely new cast coming in to headline seasons 3 and 4. Among them are Olivia Colman (Queen Elizabeth II), Tobias Menzies (Prince Philip), and Helena Bonham Carter (Princess Margaret), with much of The Crown season 3 expected to explore 1960s Britain and Elizabeth’s meeting with Richard Nixon in the United States.

That’s exciting in and of itself, but while speaking to Variety in anticipation of next month’s Emmy Awards, Matt Smith admitted that he’d like to reprise as Prince Phillip for a future episode of The Crown – presumably one which involves flashbacks to the mid-1900s.

I’d come back! I said this to Peter Morgan, I think the last season there should be an episode each for each couple. He won’t do it, but yeah, it’s a cool idea, isn’t it? You’ve got three episodes: One of them is me and Claire, the other one is Olivia and Tobias and then the other one is, whoever it’s going to be. I’d come back because it’s a great show. And those things, they’re hard to come by.

It’s a cross-generational finale befitting The Crown, whose sweeping story of the British Royal Family has allowed Netflix’s original series to rank among some of the most expensive TV shows ever made – think Game of Thrones-level expensive. And it’s only going to get more ambitious as the years roll on.

Up next is The Crown season 3, which has already spent the past few weeks lensing across various parts of the United Kingdom – Liverpool included. A mid-2019 premiere date appears to be the current target.