Time marches on: The Crown announces casting for Prince William and Kate Middleton

As reported by Deadline, The Crown has found its new Prince William and Kate Middleton for the sixth installment of Netflix’s drama about the British Royal Family. While the adult cast members tend to stick around for two seasons, the show’s producers have opted for two different actors for William to depict his aging.

Theater actor Rufus Kampa will be playing the prince as a teenager in episodes covering the aftermath of Princess Diana’s death in 1997. Ed McVey will step in for William’s university and young adult years, which include the beginning of his relationship with Kate, played by Meg Bellamy. Deadline notes that The Crown will be the first major screen role for all three actors and that they’re set to begin filming later this year.

In The Crown’s fifth season, arriving on Netflix this November, Senan West will be portraying Prince William. He is the real-life son of Dominic West, who is coming on board as an older Prince Charles, following Josh O’Connor’s run. (Hopefully they have better chemistry than Idris Elba and his daughter.)

Other new cast members for the fifth season who will be carrying over to the sixth include Elizabeth Debicki as Princess Diana, Lesley Manville as Princess Margaret, Jonathan Pryce as Prince Philip, and Imelda Staunton as Queen Elizabeth II.

While the series has featured many extremely recognizable faces, such as Gillian Anderson and Helena Bonham Carter, it also has a decent track record as a launchpad for newer talents. Vanessa Kirby scored roles in the Mission: Impossible and Fast & Furious franchises after her run playing Princess Margaret, as well as an Oscar nomination for Pieces Of A Woman, another Netflix project. Before their turn as Princess Diana, Emma Corrin’s biggest job had been a handful of episodes of Pennyworth: The Origins Of Batman’s Butler; now, they’re a fashion darling and a star of My Policeman, one of the most anticipated films of this fall.