It isn’t just at The White Lotus resort where bizarre things are happening. In a strange production U-turn, producers of the third season of HBO’s The White Lotus (2021-) have recast a role for the second time. With the prior recasting of Miloš Biković’s undisclosed role being down to his support for Russian president Putin, there is less solid understanding of what prompted the most recent decision. The decision in question? Recasting Frances Corney with Charlotte Le Bon.
The role in which Le Bon, a French-Canadian actress best known for her directorial debut Falcon Lake (2022), will now play in the hit series remains undisclosed. However, rumour has it that the decision comes mainly down to Mike White’s need for the actor to ‘play older’. Corney, who had previously been cast in the role, is 31 years old whilst Le Bon turned 37 this past September.
Whilst recasting isn’t an uncommon decision in film and television production, the recasting of Le Bon does come fairly late in the game. The series began production for its third season at the beginning of the year in Thailand, and will likely wrap up this summer in time for post-production and release in the first quarter of 2025. Whilst there is no way of confirming, it can be safely assumed that Corney may have very well already filmed parts of the role that will now need reshooting.
Above the practical concerns that come with recasting, a more potent question comes with the background of Corney vs Le Bon. Frances Corney, best known for her role in Apple TV’s The Buccaneers (2023-), is a model-turned-actress from Bangkok, Thailand; the country in which the third season of The White Lotus is set. With Le Bon being French-Canadian, it will be interesting to see how the role is adjusted to suit Le Bon as a white actor, whose role invariably will exist within a different context to Corney, as Le Bon is not native to the setting.
The White Lotus premiered on HBO in 2021 to huge success, winning two Golden Globes and six Primetime Emmys. After being renewed for a third season last year, writing and production stalled amongst the Writers and Actors strikes of 2023. As a result, the initial planned release date of 2024 was pushed back a year, with the third season now due in 2025.
For further updates on season three please stay tuned as we continue to follow production here at The Indiependent.
Words by Ben Carpenter
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