Gangs of London season 2: Release date, cast and latest news

And it doesn’t look like director Corin Hardy has dialed down the deaths, stabbings or shootings in the upcoming second season if his latest comments are anything to go by.

Speaking to Metro.co.uk about the violence in the upcoming instalment, he revealed: "I’d say there’s a higher body count."

Talking about the importance of violence to the show’s narrative, Corin added: "It’s part of the show’s DNA. You’re existing in a world of criminals, everyone in gangs is a criminal and there is something interesting to watch where you can relate to the characters because they are family members.

"There’s this quandary of can you have a life of family and crime in a big way? Can you make that work? It comes with sacrifices, and it comes with dilemmas, and those dilemmas spill into becoming involved in some kind of violence."

Fans will be pleased to hear that key players including Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù, Paapa Essiedu and Pippa Bennett-Warner will all be reprising their roles, while new additions to the cast include Waleed Zuaiter (Baghdad Central), Salem Kali (Dealer), Aymen Hamdouchi (SAS: Red Notice), Fady El-Sayed (A Private War) and French rapper Jasmine Armando.

One important cast member might not be making a return, however, after Joe Cole's character Sean Wallace's fate was left somewhat ambiguous in the season 1 finale.

But just when will the new episodes be released? Read on for everything you need to know about Gangs of London season 2.

Will there be a Gangs of London season 2?

Yes! It was confirmed on 24th June 2020 that Sky had renewed Gangs of London for a second season, joining with US broadcaster AMC who will air both seasons in the States.

It's no surprise after the show's 7-day cumulative viewing figures of 2.23 million saw it become Sky Atlantic's biggest ever original drama launch, bigger even than Chernobyl and Save Me.

"Not only is Gangs of London Sky’s most binged premiere box-set this year, it’s the biggest original drama launch on Sky Atlantic of the past five years," said Zai Bennett, Sky UK’s Managing Director of Content. "It’s dark, dangerous and we are thrilled it is coming back for a second series.”

Star Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù has also said that he hopes "there is a demand for more" beyond season 2, but added: "Let's finish the season, see how people respond to it and wait for the green light for third".

Gangs of Londons season 2 release date

It's official - Gangs of London is returning to Sky Atlantic and NOW from 20th October 2022.

The release date was officially announced on 23rd September 2022, with the new season arriving two and a half years after the first debuted.

Filming on the new season commenced in late June 2021, following earlier comments from star Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù, who confirmed the production was gearing up and that he was looking forward to getting stuck into his character once more.

The EE Rising Star BAFTA nominee said: "I would love for Elliot the same thing I would love for all humanity, and that is peace of mind and happiness, but I don’t think that is the trajectory that he is on.

"I think it’s going to get a lot worse before it gets better for him, so I suppose what I would like that is a bit more realistic is a rollercoaster ride, something that he can look back and be like, ‘I lived through that, there were a lot of experiences’."

What's Gangs of London season 2 about?

The official synopsis for season 2 says: "One year after the death of Sean Wallace and the violent reckonings of series one, the map and soul of London has been redrawn. The surviving Wallaces are scattered, the Dumanis broken and estranged, and ex-undercover cop Elliot is now being forced to work for the investors.

"To restore order, the investors have aligned behind heroin baron Asif Afridi and together they have installed a new ruling force in London in the form of brutal gang leader - Koba.

"His vision for the criminal landscape is a dictatorship, a world in which old school gangster codes don’t exist and in which he holds a complete monopoly over London’s drug trade. But this monopoly can’t last forever. The gangs are fighting back - who will win the battle for the soul of London?

"Series 2 of Gangs of London will see our old favourites and new players fight back against the new order, forcing sworn enemies to work together and family members to betray each other. Full of twists, turns and exhilarating, cinematic action sequences, the series will introduce us to new characters and unexpected leaders will emerge."

Gangs of London season 2 cast: Who's returning?

**Warning: contains spoilers for Gangs of London season 1**

The following cast members are confirmed to be returning for Gangs of London season 2: Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù as Elliot Carter/Finch, Michelle Fairley as Marian Wallace, Lucian Msamati as Ed Dumani, Paapa Essiedu as Alex Dumani and Pippa Bennett-Warner as Shannon Dumani.

Asif Raza will also be back as Pakistani heroin kingpin Asif, who will be seeking revenge after his politician son Nasir (Parth Thakerar) was murdered in brutal gang warfare.

Season 2 has also added some new members to its cast, including Waleed Zuaiter (Baghdad Central), Salem Kali (Dealer), Aymen Hamdouchi (SAS: Red Notice), Fady El-Sayed (A Private War) and French rapper Jasmine Armando in her first TV role.

The other Wallace children, drug addict Billy (Brian Vernel) and A&E doctor Jacqueline (Valene Kane), were planning to flee the country at the end of Gangs' first season, though it's possible we might catch up with them again in future, while we know we also see with Albanian mafia boss Luan (Orli Shuka) in season 2.

Though he's now long-dead, it's also feasible that Colm Meaney might continue to appear on the show as Finn Wallace by way of flashbacks.

It's probable we'll see more of Tim McInnerny as Jacob and Amanda Drew as Ms. Kane – the two representatives of Finn's mysterious investors, introduced in the first season finale – but director Xavier Gens also told Den of Geek that he expects "a new, big antagonist" to debut in the second season.

"We need to create a new one because the body count of the first season is quite elevated!" Gens said.

Here's a list of the officially announced cast for Gangs of London season 2:

• Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù as Elliot Carter/Finch
• Paapa Essiedu as Dumani
• Lucian Msamati as Ed Dumani
• Michelle Fairley as Marian Wallace
• Orli Shuka as Luan Dushaj
• Pippa Bennett-Warner as Shannon Dumani
• Brian Vernel as Billy Wallace
• Narges Rashidi as Lale
• Asif Raza as Asif Afridi
• Valene Kane as Jacqueline Robinson
• Waleed Zuaiter as Koba
• Jasmine Armando as Saba
• Fady El-Sayed as Faz
• Salem Kali as Basem
• Aymen Hamdouchi as Hakim

Corin Hardy, who directed four episodes of the first run, will be lead director this time around, while Marcela Said (Lupin, Narcos: Mexico) and Nima Nourizadeh (Little America) will take the reins for two episodes each.

The first season of Gangs of London ended with many major characters in troubling predicaments.

Marian was shot by Ed Dumani and feigned death, but she actually survived the gunshot wound and finds an unexpected ally in Floriana, Finn's mistress.

Elsewhere, Shannon and Sean (Joe Cole) discovered Elliot's identity as an undercover cop, leading to Shannon taking the life of his handler Vicky. Sean reacts differently to the revelation - although he is shocked, he attempts to team up with Elliot in an attempt to bring down Finn's investors.

But in a final twist, Elliot betrays Sean, shooting him on the orders of the Investors, who'd threatened the lives of both Shannon and her son. Elliot allows Alex Dumani – the investors' hand-picked successor to take over Finn's criminal empire – to escape.

It appears the all-powerful investors have once again manipulated events to their advantage, but Elliot might have a trump card... in the form of a SIM card. Gifted him earlier by Sean, it contains years' worth of information accumulated by Finn prior to his death, detailing the investors' corrupt activities.

Will Elliot use this intel to bring down the investors? Viewers will have to wait and see.

Is Joe Cole in Gangs of London season 2?

In June 2021, the official cast list for Gangs of London season 2 was released by Sky and Joe Cole was not among the names featured, while the official synopsis mentions Sean's death - however, it's still possible he could make a top secret cameo appearance.

Some fans have speculated that, despite taking a bullet to the head and apparently being declared dead by the police, Sean Wallace may still be alive.

Elliot notably shoots him in the cheek, with Gareth Evans adding fuel to the fire of those survival rumours: "I think we've kept that pretty open of where Elliot shot him. If it had been dead centre, then yeah absolutely [he'd be dead]."

So perhaps we could still see Elliot and Sean team up to take on the investors after all.

Gangs of London season 2 trailer

You can watch the full trailer for Gangs of London season 2 right here now.

Gangs of London season 2 will air on Sky and NOW from 20th October 2022 – catch up on the first season on Sky now. For more to watch, check out our TV guide or visit our Drama hub for all the latest news.

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