With the end of
American Horror Story: Asylum comes questions not just related to the more ambiguous aspects of what
transpired during the season, but also what the series’ co-creators,
Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, are cooking up for the all-new storyline
of season 3.
Although work has yet to officially get started on the new season, prior to the end of season 2, Murphy let slip
a few tantalizing details as to what direction the anthology would be headed. Many fans have
already begun speculating that the overall theme of season 3 would have
to do with witches, magic or some variation of the two, and how that
will be incorporated with Murphy’s rather cryptic use of the term
“evil glamour.
“Additionally, the writer-director also said that he was interested in a shooting location that had seen
“true horror,” leading many to think Salem, Massachusetts – which would be in keeping with the theory that the story will involve witches.
In a series of interviews with
Entertainment Weekly,
Murphy provided a few teases as to what the audience can expect, but
remained mum on most specifics (like the season’s subtitle), which means
those hoping for a confirmation or denial of the whole witches in Salem
theory will have to wait just a bit longer. But considering how
frequently Murphy likes to give interviews, and how much information
he’s usually willing to offer up in them, we’ll likely have firmer
details soon.
As far as casting goes, it has already been announced that in
addition to Jessica Lange, season 3 will count Sarah Paulson and Evan
Peters among the primary cast, but no word yet on whether or not Zachary
Quinto,
Lily Rabe, Dylan McDermott or
Asylum additions like Chloë Sevigny,
James Cromwell and Joseph Fiennes will be back for another go-round with Murphy’s brand of “horror.”
And while one third of the Harmon family managed to make an
appearance in season 2 (courtesy of Dylan McDermott as Johnny a.k.a. Son
of Bloody Face), that meant
Asylum had a noticeable dearth of Connie Britton (who is off in
Nashville), as well as season 1 standout Taissa Farmiga, who played
the doomed teenage lover of ghost-boy/spree-killer Tate Langdon (Evan Peters). If you missed
Taissa, then you’re in luck, because, according to his statement in
another
EW interview, so did Murphy.
“I missed [Taissa] this season. There wasn’t really a
role for her. I feel very protective of her and I didn’t want her to go
back into the loony bin – it was too dark. So I thought well ‘I want
Taissa to be one of the leads next year.’ I called her up and pitched
her the character for the season and she loved it and she said, ‘Yes
let’s do it.’ So we’re in negotiations for her to headline season 3.”
Although he did not divulge just what characters the actors will be
playing, Murphy suggested that Lange will take on something more akin to
her
season 1 role, while the season’s tone, overall, will be a little lighter, with funnier and more romantic moments.
“I think Jessica is going back to be in that Constance-vein. She’s gonna go back to her evil roots, Jessica Lange.
There’s a romantic element. I think the whole season I want to be
funnier, romantic. But make no mistake, just when I think it’s gonna be a
little lighter, I find this great, true-life character that’s the most
horrible woman ever created.”
Meanwhile, regardless their opinion on
how the Asylum storyline turned out, many fans have been vocal in appreciating director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon’s visual stylings in episodes like ‘
I am Anne Frank: Part 2,’ ‘
Spilt Milk‘ and, of course, the season finale, ‘
Madness Ends.’
Murphy, too, seemed to think Mr. Gomez-Rejon was an extraordinary
addition to the series, and is quick to assure those reading that he’ll
be back in a more prominent role, helping to dictate the overall look
and feel of season 3.
“I mean, I don’t think anything could ever be as dark as the mental
health care system in our country. I sorta feel like for the third
version I want to do something that’s a little bit more ‘evil glamour.”’
Just something that’s a little bit more…one of the things that I missed
this season was I really loved having that Romeo & Juliet youth
story with
Violet and Tate.
I want something like that again and we’re doing something like that in
the third season. And we’re contemplating shooting the show in a
different place. We’re contemplating shooting it in a place in the
country where true horror has been. We’ve got lots of delicious plans.”
that was bugging me
