- Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult return for Season 3 of The Great
- Elle Fanning’s successful career and accolades
- The unique blend of dark humor in The Great and its exploration of fate and destiny
Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult return for the third season of the historical and satirical Lionsgate+ series The Great.
Elle Fanning has appeared in films since she was three years old when she portrayed the smaller version of her sister Dakota in I Am Sam.
Elle has since made her mark in Hollywood portraying Aurora in Angelina Jolie’s Maleficent, Michelle Carter in The Girl From Plainville, and Catherine, Empress of Russia in The Great.
Her portrayal of Catherine The Great has garnered her multiple nominations from the Screen Actors Guild, Golden Globes, and Critics’ Choice Awards, as well as a Primetime Emmy nomination in 2022.
In the third season, British actor Nicholas Hoult plays Catherine and Peter, who struggle to make their marriage work.
Elle Fanning praised the series writer and executive producer, Tony McNamara.
“What is he going to propose next? His mind. He’s so genius. He is also extremely dusky. Similarly, Tony, you are twisted. But this is precisely why it combines so well. He is a true savant.”
The series’ use of dark humor distinguishes it from other historical dramas, allowing storylines to transition from comedic sequences to bloodshed and violence in the blink of an eye.
“I crave that humor,” Fanning says.
“It’s like when there’s a really funny, crazy moment, then immediately turning it on its head and making the audience ponder, feel, and become emotionally invested in something. Consequently, a delicate balancing act is required. But it’s genuine.”
This is one of the first instances since her appearance in Daddy Day Care when she was four that Fanning has had the opportunity to explore the more comedic side of acting.
“Living in the comedy sphere is extremely enjoyable for me, which was unusual. Currently, I feel content and accustomed to the space.
Catherine the Great, Empress of All Russia, and her spouse Peter III of Russia, who was famously overthrown by his wife and died in captivity, are loosely portrayed in The Great.
The first two seasons drew on certain real events but ignored others, thus Peter may survive in the fictionalised version.
Fanning states, “I believe this season is also about fate and destiny. Many of our previous seasons have been, but perhaps this one has been the most so.”
Hulu hasn’t announced a fourth season of The Great, so a spin-off could replace it.
But Fanning does not believe it to be likely: “Within the ensemble, we’ve discussed this, and I don’t believe it would occur.
“I’d like to see Marial [Catherine’s companion, portrayed by Phoebe Fox] or Aunt Elizabeth [portrayed by Australian actress Belinda Bromilow]. I’m not sure. Perhaps all the ladies.”
The third season of The Great is currently available to stream on Lionsgate+.
