Netflix has bestowed a royal honour upon one of the stars of Outlander. According to Deadline, Tobias Menzies will play Prince Philip on season 3 of The Crown, replacing original star Matt Smith following the show's much buzzed-about time jump.
The Crown follows the real-life scandals of the Royal Family, and does so over multiple decades. So, while Claire Foy portrayed Queen Elizabeth (the titular crown) on the streaming series for its first two seasons, she, like most of the younger cast, will be replaced by older actors for its third season. We already learned that Foy's Elizabeth will be played by Olivia Colman in season 3 of the series, but her husband's onscreen identity was a mystery. Now, with Menzies' casting, we know who will slip on Philip's crown.
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As for Menzies, he will move from a time-traveling series to one a little more grounded in real life. On Outlander, Menzies portrayed Frank Randall, husband of the show's time-hopping nurse, Claire. It was actually a dual role for the star: He appeared on the series as Frank's ancestor, Jonathan "Black Jack" Randall, who met an untimely (and somewhat improvised) death in season 3.
The Crown won't be Menzies only historical series of note. He portrayed Brutus on HBO's Rome from 2005 to 2007.
Here's Prince Philip side by side with Menzies. Do you see the similarity? If you don't, you know that The Crown will do everything in its power to make sure that Menzies is physically channelling the royal — and that Menzies' acting chops will take care of the rest.
Fans on Twitter were thrilled to hear news of the actor's casting.
"Best. News. Ever! My two favorite shows colliding," one wrote.
"Excellent call, @TheCrownNetflix," another added. "You couldn’t have cast a finer actor!"
"Can’t think of anyone else who could do a better job," added a third.
While we may know how season 3 of The Crown will ultimately play out (I mean, it is based on the real stories of real royals, after all) how Menzies portrays Philip is still a mystery. All we can bank on is that he's going to do a royally great job.
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