Who will play Dodi Fayed in ‘The Crown”s new season?
It could be timing, but it definitely feels like right now is all about the late Princess Diana. With the Kristen Stewart movie Spencer on the horizon, a freaking musical about her, and the upcoming new season of The Crown focusing on her, it’s definitely a cosom of some sort of focus on the late People’s Princess. Of course, however, there is more to Diana’s story than the dissolution of her marriage to Prince Charles.
Currently, the new season of The Crown is currently filming with every COVID-19 film restriction in place. The fifth season will focus on a fascinating era for the British Royal Family: the 90s. After all, it was in the 90s that Princess Diana & Prince Charles divorced. It was toward the end of the decade, in 1997, when Diana tragically died in a car accident. The focus of the world was on the royals in a big way.
Now, there’s a new piece of casting news focused on telling Princess Diana’s story. If you know even a bit about her life following her divorce from the Prince, then you know that she found love again prior to her death. Let’s take a look at this new casting for the next season of The Crown.
Who’s been cast in the new season of The Crown?
According to Variety, the next bit of key casting for the new season of The Crown is that of the late Dodi Fayed and his billionaire father, Mohamed Al-Fayed. Khalid Abdalla, best known for his work in The Kite Runner, has been cast as Dodi Fayed in The Crown. Oslo star Salim Daw will play Mohamed Al-Fayed in the fifth season. Despite no plot details, it does show we’ll get a glimpse into Fayed’s romance with Diana.
Given the time skip between seasons 4 & 5 of The Crown, this means that there will be a new host of actors stepping into these roles. Elizabeth Debicki (Tenet) has been previously cast as the late Princess in the series, taking over for Emma Corrin. Dominic West (The Affair) is set to play Prince Charles. Imelda Staunton (Harry Potter) takes over the role of Queen Elizabeth II.
Rounding out the cast for season 5 is Jonathan Pryce (The Two Popes) as Prince Philip, Lesley Manville (Maleficent: Mistress of Evil) as Princess Margaret, and Jonny Lee Miller (Elementary) as Prime Minister John Major. There’s no word on if Diana’s death will be a major focus of season 5. Of course, the lead-up and the aftermath to her death could be explored here.
Who was Dodi Fayed?
Born in 1955 as Emad El-Din Mohamed Abdel Mena’em Fayed, Dodi Fayed was an Egyptian film producer. His father, Mohamed Al-Fayed, owned Harrod’s department store amongst other various business interests as well. Fayed’s, well, the son to a billionaire. Despite the family’s business interests, Fayed, instead, turned to film producing as a career.
Honestly? His name is attached to some pretty big movies. Fayed was an executive producer on such films as Chariots of Fire, Hook, The Scarlet Letter, Breaking Glass, and both F/X movies. So, he definitely knew what he was doing there. Personally, we have a big soft spot for Hook. Unfortunately, however, sources about Fayed are scarce. He was a pretty private guy and had never given an interview, according to Variety.
Fayed died in the same car crash that killed Princess Diana on Aug. 31, 1997. Shortly before their deaths, Fayed & Diana had reportedly become engaged. Fayed died instantly on the scene. While the cause is widely agreed to be an accident caused by the intoxication of the driver, Henri Paul, Mohamed Al-Fayed believed that MI-6 had killed his son and Diana.
—
What do you think about the new casting news for The Crown’s next season? Let us know in the comments below.
