Hulu has issued an official verdict on the Prison Break reboot that was first reported to be in the works at the end of last year – but is the series staying locked up behind bars, or will it see the light of day? It has been more than 20 years since the original Prison Break, starring Dominic Purcell and Wentworth Miller, premiered on Fox. The popular crime drama initially ran for four seasons, but was later revived for a fifth season that aired in 2017. An entirely new version of the show, hailing from Mayans M.C. co-creator Elgin James, was handed a pilot order last December to try and gauge its potential success before committing to a full season.
As reported by Variety, the Prison Break reboot has now received a full series order at Hulu off the back of its pilot episode, which was directed by James, who also serves as writer, showrunner, and executive producer on the fresh take. It is not clear how many episodes the new season will run for, but it will take place in the same universe as the original series with different characters and a new storyline that will inevitably lead to a jailbreak attempt. Instead of brothers Lincoln Burrows and Michael Scofield, the plot will center around a corrections officer named Cassidy, who will be played by Emily Browning, per the logline for the series:
“An ex-soldier turned corrections officer (Emily Browning) takes a job at one of the deadliest prisons in America to prove just how far she’ll go for someone she loves.”
In addition to Browning, the cast of the Prison Break reboot features Lukas Gage as privileged politician Jackson, Drake Rodger as long-incarcerated inmate Tommy, Myles Bullock as fellow cellie Darius aka “Red,” and Georgie Flores as corrections officer cadet Andrea. The ensemble also includes a Mayans M.C. reunion, with Clayton Cardenas and JR Bourne both starring in the show. Cardenas plays bad-to-the-bone jailbird Michael aka “Ghost,” while Bourne portrays an infamous prison break survivor known as “Junior.”
Has the Hulu Reboot Locked in Any Original Cast Members?
Given the new direction of the Prison Break reboot, it is unlikely that any original cast members will return. Miller has already gone on record to confirm that he will not be reprising his role in the series. He stated in an Instagram post in November 2020 that he has no desire to venture back into that world after publicly coming out in 2013. Purcell left a message in the comments in respect of Miller’s stance, while also seemingly affirming his own position on coming back for the show. The duo’s former co-star, Sarah Wayne Callies, who played fan-favorite character Sara Tancredi, made her own post to voice her “support for that choice.”
While the OG cast might not be locked in for the reimagining, the show’s original creator Paul Scheuring is onboard as an executive producer along with Dawn Olmstead, Marty Adelstein, and Neal Moritz, all of whom served in the same roles during Prison Break‘s original television reign. They will be working alongside James to help usher in a new era for the franchise, which comprises a TV movie, spin-off, video game, online webisodes, a magazine, and a novel, in addition to the mainline series, which has experienced a sharp surge in popularity on streaming, suggesting that there is still an audience interested in small screen jail jaunts.
