Warning: Major spoilers for The Great season three ahead.

As ghastly as King Peter’s death is in the middle of The Great’s third season, it could’ve been even more jarring. “I was shocked by the Succession one,” Nicholas Hoult tells Vanity Fair of Logan Roy’s onscreen demise. “I was like, Oof. At [episode] three.”

It’s not until episode six that Hoult’s Peter meets his end, falling through the ice amidst an ill-advised invasion of Sweden. Moments before his fateful fall, Elle Fanning’s Catherine pleads with her husband to abort the mission and return to his place as primary caretaker of their newborn son, Paul. Peter refuses her proposal, but packages his rejection within a lovesick monologue. “There are many versions of you, and you know I’m the only one who sees them all,” he tells Catherine. “And you know I love them all—even when I find them baffling and idiotic. I just ask the same of you.… You think I am destroying us, and I know I am saving us.”

Alas, Peter proceeds across a frozen lake on horseback, turning to say “Actually—” before plummeting to his death. It’s an inevitable conclusion for the character, who is plagued by visions of both his dead father (played by Jason Isaacs) and an adult version of his son. The season balances “this idea that he has actually found happiness in somebody, and then this creeping idea of how people judge you and how Paul will grow up to think of him,” Hoult explains. “These tiny seeds get planted that grow into this idea of him not being good enough as a leader, as a man, as a father—how people will view him after his death, and what his life amounts to.”

While Hoult’s exit from the Hulu series provides him ample time to invest in his film career (commitments to The Great prevented him from accepting the villain role in the upcoming Mission: Impossible movie, and he’s reportedly circling the lead role in James Gunn’s Superman: Legacy), the actor isn’t quite ready to let go of Peter’s ghost. “I’ve never experienced anything quite like it,” he says of the series. “I’ve never enjoyed playing a character as much and experienced and grown so much in my personal life outside of it. I don’t think I’ll ever experience anything like it again.”

Ahead, Hoult looks back at his “bizarre” reign, including time spent playing Pugachev, and discusses whether he’d be down to do some season four haunting.

Vanity Fair: Given history, people have assumed that Peter would die at some point. But when did you know how and when his death would go down?
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The Great is about to make its great return.

The Emmy-winning series will return to Hulu on Friday, May 12. Starring Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult, the third season follows Catherine (Fanning) and Peter (Hoult) as they attempt to make their marriage work after some seemingly insurmountable problems. Peter witnessed his own attempted murder at Catherine’s hands and she also imprisoned all of his friends.

On top of this, Peter is at a loose end playing First Husband to Catherine’s reign, so he busies himself with fathering, hunting and salty culinary ventures. But they’re not enough to keep him contented as visions of his late father (played by Jason Isaacs), get in his head about his failures as Peter the Great’s son. Catherine the Great starts making a name for herself beyond her borders and inspired by a visit from the US ambassador, sets up a conference where peasants, nobles and merchants can all give their input on developing a new Russia. She learns that even the best political leaders sometimes need to make compromises in order to progress.

Fanning announced the show’s return on her Instagram page.

The Great is created, written and executive produced by Tony McNamara and executive produced by Marian Macgowan, Mark Winemaker, Elle Fanning, Nicholas Hoult, Echo Lake’s Brittany Kahan Ward, Doug Mankoffand Andrew Spaulding, Thruline’s Ron West and Josh Kesselman.

The project is produced by Civic Center Media in association with MRC Television. [Source]

Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult are set to return for a third season of Hulu’s The Great following a successful sophomore season currently available to stream in its entirety.

The series, one of the streamer’s top-performing original comedies, has now been renewed for a 10-episode third season.

In Season 2, Catherine (Fanning) finally takes the Russian throne for her own — but if she thought coup-ing her husband was difficult, it’s nothing compared to the realities of “liberating” a country that doesn’t want to be. She battled her court, her team, even her own mother in a bid to bring the enlightenment to Russia.

Series co-stars include Phoebe Fox, Adam Godley, Gwilym Lee, Charity Wakefield, Douglas Hodge, Sacha Dhawan, Bayo Gbadamosi and Belinda Bromilow.

The Great—from Civic Center Media in association with MRC Television— is created, written and executive produced by Tony McNamara and executive produced by Marian Macgowan, Mark Winemaker, Fanning, Hoult, Echo Lake’s Brittany Kahan Ward, Doug Mankoff and Andrew Spaulding, Thruline’s Josh Kesselman and Ron West and Matt Shakman. [Source]

Season two of The Great premiers November 19, 2021. Can’t wait to watch this season!

Hulu unveiled a few more new stills from season two, and I have added these ones to the gallery so, you can go there to take a look!