Downton Abbey star Brendan Coyle has joined the cast of the returning Has Fallen franchise, as Studiocanal announces that filming has commenced on season three.
Titled Shadow Has Fallen, the next chapter in the franchise will follow the success of Paris Has Fallen and the upcoming Apollo Has Fallen, which is slated for release this Autumn.
Per a press release, principal photography is taking place in the UK and South Africa, with the third instalment set to continue “the high-octane series ambition” of its predecessors and Gerard Butler’s Has Fallen film franchise.
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The new six-episode season sees series creator Howard Overman return as writer, with Ritu Arya and Tewfik Jallab returning as as MI6 operative Zara Taylor and former French Secret Service agent Vincent Taleb, respectively.
Joining the cast for the new season alongside Coyle are Game of Thrones star Iwan Rheon and Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom actor Atandwa Kani.
The synopsis for season three reads: “When a prison bus is ambushed in a sudden, brutal attack in Mozambique, an unassuming British prisoner, Miles (Iwan Rheon), is extracted by Vincent and Zara, igniting a chain reaction that will threaten global infrastructure, world leaders, and the very idea of government itself.
“Miles is a whistle-blower who has in his possession a totally untraceable, unstoppable cyber weapon capable of hijacking any computerised system, from banks to military drones.
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“He helped the British government to develop the cyber weapon, but now he has stolen it. The question is, why? And whose side is he on…”
Speaking about the third season, Overman said: “There’s a scale to season 3 that we’ve been building towards since Paris Has Fallen, and all of us at Urban Myth Films are thrilled that Studiocanal chose to back the future of this franchise in such a timely fashion.
“Shadow Has Fallen will see Vincent and Zara embark on their most demanding and morally challenging mission – a mission that takes them into the very heart of Southern Africa.”
Shadow Has Fallen is yet to confirm a release date. Paris Has Fallen streams on Prime Video in the UK.
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Harriet is a freelance news writer specialising in TV and movies at Digital Spy.
A horror enthusiast, she joined Digital Spy after working on her own horror website, reviewing films and focusing largely on feminism in the genre.
In her spare time, Harriet paints and produces mixed-media art. She graduated from the University of Kingston with a BA in fine art, where she specialised in painting. She also has an MA in journalism from Birkbeck University.