LOS ANGELES: The fifth season of the Netflix series "The Crown" will not drop until 2022 as the team is set to take a shooting break this year amid final cast changeover.
Veteran actor Imelda Staunton is set to step in for Olivia Colman in the role of Queen Elizabeth II on the hit British period drama for the next season and the recently announced season six by creator Peter Morgan.
According to Deadline, Left Bank Pictures, the production banner behind the show, is aiming to start production in June 2021.
The fourth season, which is expected to start streaming later this year, managed to finish production early amid the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown measures.
There was a similar hiatus between seasons two and three, which were separated by a two-year gap as Claire Foy made way for Colman.
With season five filming in June 2021, the sixth and final season will shoot in 2022.
While Staunton will ascend the throne as the British monarch for the final two seasons, Lesley Manville will star as Princess Margaret.
The upcoming season four will follow the event until 1990 when Margaret Thatcher, played by Gillian Anderson, was ousted as prime minister of the UK.
It will also see Princess Diana (Emma Corrin) marry Prince Charles (Josh O'Connor) in 1981.