Taboo season 2 release date speculation, potential cast and latest news
Tom Hardy’s James Delaney will be back – but what can we expect?
This has been a long time coming.
Tom Hardy and Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight’s offbeat period drama Taboo may officially be coming back for a second season, with Hardy’s “devil Delaney” headed west after taking his revenge on London in the stylish, unsettling first run, but the wait continues,
The gritty BBC drama was officially renewed for a second season way back in March 2017.
But now we are five years on from the show's release and there’s still no sign of it, and still no answers to fans' burning questions that the season finale of the first run need.
Speaking after its renewal, executive producer Ridley Scott said: "We're thrilled people want to know what happens next and that the BBC and FX are up for more adventures with the devil Delaney and the league of the damned."
The show's creator Steven Knight promised at the time: "James Delaney will continue to explore many realities as he takes his band of misfits to a new world, thanks to FX and the BBC, partners who could not be more suited to collaborating in groundbreaking work."
With season 1 now available to watch on Netflix, fans might be wondering when season 2 of Taboo will land on our screens and what we can now expect
Here is everything we know so far about Taboo season 2.
Taboo season 2 release date speculation
At present, it seems Taboo season 2 won't arrive until the earliest of late 2023.
An official release date is yet to be announced for Taboo season 2, given that production is yet to kick off on the new series.
However, in November 2021, Knight provided an update on season 2 of the show, revealing that most of it had been written.
Speaking to Collider, Knight confirmed that “six of the eight [episodes] are written” and that they “are trying to get stars aligned so that we can get our star [Hardy] back on set”.
Noting that Hardy was incredibly busy, he went on to predict that the earliest filming would kick off is “early 2023”.
This suggests that at the earliest we won't see it until the end of the same year.
In the meantime, both Hardy and his Taboo co-star Stephen Graham both feature in the sixth and final season of Peaky Blinders, Steven Knight's gangster series,
Hardy portrays Jewish gangster Alfred "Alfie" Solomons, while Graham plays Liverpudlian docks worker Hayden Stagg.
However, the pair are yet to share any scenes together,
Taboo season 2 cast speculation
The following cast members could potentially reprise their roles in Taboo season 2.
- Tom Hardy as James Keziah Delaney
- Jessie Buckley as Lorna Delaney (née Bow)
- Tom Holland as Dr George Cholmondeley
- Stephen Graham as Atticus
- Edward Hogg as Michael Godfrey
- Mark Gatiss as Prince George, Prince Regent
- Scroobius Pip as French Bill
While it seems certain that Tom Hardy’s James Delaney will return, it’s less clear whether the series’ supporting cast will continue.
After all, both Jessie Buckley’s Lorna Delaney and Tom Hollander’s Cholmondeley were last seen gravely injured after a battle with redcoats, so it’s unclear whether these characters would survive the journey west.
Other characters we might be more likely to see again include Stephen Graham’s Atticus, Edward Hogg’s Michael, Mark Gatiss’ Prince Regent and Scroobius Pip’s French Bill.
Oona Chaplin’s Zilpha, Michael Kelly’s Dr Dumbarton, Jonathan Pryce’s Stuart Strange and Jefferson Hall’s Thorne all died during the course of series one.
What could happen in Taboo season 2?
Following the events of season 1, season 2 will see Tom Hardy’s James Delaney and his cohorts heading west to Ponta Delgada in the Azores, where they’re looking to finally meet US intelligence agent Colonnade.
"Taboo heads west and becomes a little bit more narcotic, more opium-affected," Steven Knight said of the second series.
“I’ve got a geographical sort of route for the thing to take," he added in conversation with Collider.
"I have a destination in mind, which is always nice to have if you’re setting off on this big journey, which is what writing three eight-hours is. It’s good to know where you’re headed.”
It’s expected that series two will see Delaney and company continue onwards to the shores of America, where Hardy’s offbeat character could explore his late mother’s Native American heritage as well as stake his claim to the all-important Nootka Sound area that kicked off the entire series’ action.
Other dangling plot threads include the secret behind James’ tattoo and his clash with both the East India Company and Mark Gatiss’ Prince Regent, all of which we might expect to see continue in future episodes.
Back in August 2021, Hardy shared some ideas for season two, telling Esquire: "We’re still playing with ideas: you could go linear, a continuation of time, or we could drop prior to London, or we could quantum-leap through time! I don’t know whether to go orthodox – there’s a series of that already written – but I don’t know if that’s the right way to go."
Hardy continued: "In my head I was thinking, ‘Let’s say they get to America, they get to Canada, fast-forward to 1968, the Tet Offensive, the Vietnam War, look at the CIA, the Viet Cong, the French in Saigon….
"Take the Delaney family tree out in the jungle, and recreate the same family dynamics that were happening in London but with new people, thinking about how history and corruption repeats itself. It’s still Taboo, it’s still period, but it’s the Sixties. There’s something fun about that.
"Or do we go back to the 1800s? The Napoleonic Wars? The American War of Independence?’ But nothing’s crossed my heart and mind and desk where I’ve gone ‘That’s it!’ so I’m hanging fire."
For more ideas about what could happen in season 2, including some real-life historical events that could get in the way, check out our predictions here.
Is there a trailer for Taboo season 2?
Sadly, there isn't a trailer for Taboo season 2 yet.
And with no filming currently underway it’s likely to be a long while before we see any footage from the season.
Watch this space!
Taboo season 1 is now available to stream on Netflix.
Check out our Drama hub for more news, interviews and features or find something to watch with our TV Guide.
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