Helena Bonham Carter shocked White Lotus fans as she abruptly exited the series last week shortly after filming began and now her replacement has been revealed.
Laura Dern has been tapped for season four of the highly-popular HBO series created by Mike White according to Variety on Tuesday.
The publication indicates that Dern, 59, is not taking over the exact role Bonham Carter, 55, was meant to play but will be playing a new character developed by White, 55.
Dern has a working relationship with showrunner White for years as she starred in his directorial debut film Year Of The Dog in 2007 before working together again on HBO comedy-drama series Enlightened for two seasons from 2011 to 2013.
On Friday, it was revealed that Carter has left the shoot of season four just days after production began in the South of France.
It emerged that filming had commenced earlier this month on the hit HBO show, an anthology series with a new storyline set in a different exotic locale each season.
Helena Bonham Carter (pictured in London in January) shocked White Lotus fans as she abruptly exited the series last week as filming began and now her replacement has been revealed
Laura Dern (pictured in London in January) has been tapped for season four of the highly-popular HBO series created by Mike White according to Variety on Tuesday
Season four would have seen Carter join an all-star cast including Heather Graham, Sandra Bernhard, Vincent Cassel, Steve Coogan and Rosie Perez.
However, HBO released a statement on Friday announcing Carter’s departure from the show over creative concerns involving her role.
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BREAKING NEWS Helena Bonham Carter LEAVES White Lotus days into shoot
‘With filming just underway on season four of The White Lotus, it had become apparent that the character which Mike White created for Helena Bonham Carter did not align once on set,’ the network revealed to TMZ.
‘The role has subsequently been rethought, is being rewritten and will be recast in the coming weeks,’ continued the premium cable broadcaster.
Representatives for Carter declined the Daily Mail’s request for comment.
In their statement, the network noted: ‘HBO, the producers and Mike White are saddened that they won’t get to work with her, but remain ardent fans and very much hope to work with the legendary actress on another project soon.’
Fans flocked to social media bewailing the news, leaving such comments as: ‘Oh my she’s the one I’m looking forward to see in this season!!!!’
Dismayed Instagram users posted reactions like: ‘I’m depressed,’ ‘So the main character is gone…,’ and: ‘NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.’
Dern has a working relationship with showrunner White for years (they are seen together in 2007)
She starred in his directorial debut film Year Of The Dog in 2007
They worked together again on HBO comedy-drama series Enlightened for two seasons from 2011 to 2013
White also starred on the series before its cancelation
‘Well damn. She was my main draw this season,’ groused a viewer as others called her ‘the gem of this season’ and exclaimed: ‘Why Helena Why?!’
Created by White, the show revolves around the exploits of the guests and staff at a different location of the titular hotel chain every season.
Originally, the through-line was the Jennifer Coolidge character Tanya McQuoid, a daffy rich older lady who led the first two seasons while the rest of the cast changed.
The buzzy third season went viral for the incest sex scene between brothers played by ‘nepo baby’ heartthrobs Patrick Schwarzenegger and Sam Nivola, as well as for the rumors of a feud between co-stars Walton Goggins and Aimee Lou Wood.
While the first three seasons were set in Hawaii, Sicily and Thailand, the fourth will unfold mainly on the French Riviera and partly in Paris.
The storyline will center on the Cannes Film Festival, peopled by a cast including Hollywood names like Kumail Nanjiani, Ari Graynor, Chloe Bennet, Max Greenfield and AJ Michalka, as well as Australian unknown Caleb Jonte Edwards.
It has emerged that the real-life Airelles Château de la Messardière in Saint-Tropez will be a filming location for the fictional White Lotus du Cap
It emerged that filming had commenced earlier this month on the hit HBO show, an anthology series with a new storyline set in a different exotic locale each season
Season four would have seen Carter, 59, join an all-star cast including Heather Graham (pictured last month), Sandra Bernhard, Vincent Cassel, Steve Coogan and Rosie Perez
European talent have been enlisted to add a touch of authenticity to the setting, such as Corentin Fila, Laura Smet and Nadia Tereszkiewicz from France, Frida Gustavsson from Sweden and Tobias Santelmann from Norway.
It has emerged that the real-life Airelles Château de la Messardière in Saint-Tropez will be a filming location for the fictional White Lotus du Cap, while the Hôtel Martinez will play both the White Lotus du Cap and the White Lotus Cannes.
The name of the White Lotus du Cap is a playful nod to the world-famous Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes, an A-list nexus during the Cannes Film Festival.
Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton notoriously carried on a torrid love affair there while married to other people, then returned there for their own honeymoon.
