Ryan Murphy has announced the casting of a major role in Season 8 of American Horror Story, now formally titled Apocalypse. Australian actor Cody Fern will be playing the part of Michael Langdon, and longtime fans of the show will recognise the name and what it might mean for the characters who come up against him. Basically, viewers will finally learn what happened to the Devil Child who was introduced in Murder House, and ended the very first season of the show in the company of Constance Langdon (Jessica Lange).
For those who may not be aware, Michael Langdon was the result of an unholy union between Vivien Harmon (Connie Britton) and the manipulative ghost of Tate Langdon (Evan Peters). This resulted in the birth of twins, with one dying at birth along with the unfortunate Vivien. Constance realises the importance of her ‘grandson’, especially as medium Billie Dean (Sarah Paulson) told her that he was destined to become the Antichrist. To that end, after practically everybody else dies in the final episodes, Constance smuggles the boy away. He’s seen in an epilogue three years later, having just murdered his nanny. Unlike some other recurring characters from the seven seasons of AHS, Michael has not been referred to in any further episodes nor made any cameo appearances, leaving his possibly demonic intentions ambiguous.
However, series creator Murphy recently sent a confirmation of the new casting via his personal Twitter account. It also shows a photo of a bloodstained 3 year old Michael, alongside a shot of Fern wearing a shirt that matches the one worn by his evil younger self. You can check out the full post below:
Fern recently received plenty of praise for his portrayal of the doomed David Madson in American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace. He is also due to play a prominent role in the forthcoming final season of House of Cards. It’ll be interesting to see how the diabolical nature of Michael plays out in the show, and how much villainous charm Fern will give to him. He will be joining plenty of confirmed returnees such as Paulson, Peters, Kathy Bates, Billie Lourd, Taissa Farmiga and Emma Roberts. Fans can also expect to see some brand-new cast members, with Joan Collins being just one of those confirmed so far.
It’s well-known by now that Apocalypse, is a crossover story combining events from Murder House and Coven. It does mean that recurring actors may have a choice of characters, with Paulson recently clarifying her role saying that she would be playing either Billie Dean or Coven leader Cordelia Foxx, but not both. With the mixture of recurring characters in play, along with the foreboding subtitle, the return of Fern’s Antichrist suggests the main premise of the season. It could be that the witches of the coven may find themselves in conflict with Michael, in a bid to prevent the end of the world. At any rate fans can likely expect more outlandishly supernatural elements in the plot, in a move away from the semi-realistic horrors of Cult. We look forward to finding out what Murphy has in store for us.
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American Horror Story: Apocalypse premieres Wednesday, September 12 on FX.
Source: Ryan Murphy
