Rebecca Ferguson kicked butt in the Mission: Impossible movies, so it only makes sense that she would receive her own leading action role. Of course, “action” isn’t the first word that comes to mind when it comes to Hugh Howey’s novels, but this series has capitalized upon Ferguson’s physical capabilities for Silo. If you’ve seen the first season, then you damn well know that the power-generator-repair episode stands in the all-time greats of nail-biting, adrenaline pumping displays of wiry physicality with Ferguson’s Juliette risking her life to bring the lights back on for thousands of undergrounders.
The overall feel of the series thus far has been more hands-on and less sci-fi than viewers initially might expect, but that could change when Season 2 begins to stream. What can we expect to happen next? The post-apocalyptic Apple TV+ series — adapted from Howey’s riveting and at-times infuriating books (Wool, Shift, and Dust) — has thus far churned towards sleeper status, but that’s the nature of the first book as well. This character-based adventure is about to start hopping back and forth between silos, which was suggested in the first season finale when the exiled Juliette emerged above ground and became the first person to disappear over the hill. Will the second season directly adhere to Howey’s next book, though? That’s a conundrum.
Plot
As readers are aware, the second book, Shift, is where things truly go off the rails with this saga. The narrative hops back and forth in time to follow a new protagonist, Donald, as well as a crew of workers who — without spoiling the book — inhabit another silo. Of course, the first season ended in a cliffhanger that showed a field full of silos, and Juliette does not appear right away in the second book, so it remains to be seen whether showrunner Graham Yost will follow the books or jump ahead in the source material to where Juliette becomes the main focus again. We haven’t heard any concrete casting news on Howey’s characters of the second novel, so let’s just say that Apple TV+ is doing a fantastic job of keeping a lid on such developments.
What do we know, though? Rebecca Ferguson told Collider that the show will have a definitive ending point that has been determined. Also, she suggests that there will not be big surprises for those who have read the books, so perhaps that means we will see those other characters soon after all:
“I mean, the books are the books, and the three books are divided into four seasons. So I believe — unless any Apple person is gonna jump on — I think we’re absolutely fine to say Season 1 we’ve done, Season 2 is shot and coming out, and we’re now looking at green-lighting Seasons 3 and 4. I think we would film them maybe together, and that will be the end.”
Additionally, Ferguson has let fly that the second season gets really “wet” and “intense” for Juliette, so it sounds like a key sequence of the book will be showcased for more action. The architecture of the show appears to be set in stone by Yost, and second-season filming is complete, so I’m hoping that they get the casting right. There has been a huge vote of confidence from Hugh Howey, however, who has teased that he has seen the second season “and it’s one of the best things I’ve ever seen.” Now we need to know what Howey thinks of Common’s leather jacket (Common has already given his answer on the subject), and fair warning….
POTENTIAL SPOILERS might be found in the casting section below.
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YEP, SPOILERS.
Cast
In the book, Juliette drains the heck out of Silo 17, but more importantly, she meets Solo, who has been living alone (as far as he knows) for decades after his silo experienced catastrophe. The casting of Solo would have been an enormous feat that needs to be hit just right because Howey fans love the guy. Since Apple TV+ is being so secretive about second-season casting for new characters, it’s worth hopping over to Reddit to see what people are obsessing about. Nominations over there include Steve Zahn or Jason Mantzoukas as Solo, which are honestly pretty good guesses. I’d also like to toss Walton Goggins into the figurative ring even though I damn well know that he’s too busy to join another show.
When it comes to Silo 1’s inhabitants or those who came before the apocalypse, Reddit is pulling hard for Sigourney Weaver as Dr. Erskine, Adam Scott as Donald, Jon Hamm as Senator Thurman, and Jessica Chastain as Anna. Hey, Alden Ehrenreich would make a fine Donald, too.
Naturally, we can expect to see more of Common’s ridiculous leather jacket as Sims and Tim Robbins as Bernard, but overall, we are receiving more Rebecca Ferguson as Juliette.
Release Date
Since filming has wrapped and the series is in post-production, surely Apple TV+ will make a release date official soon. In the meantime, Ferguson recently lamented, “We don’t have a release date. We have something we’re working towards. I have all 10 episodes of studio cuts, but then it’s grading VFX, and there’s so much that needs to be done. I think we’re hoping for a date, and I think we’re pushing for it.”
Trailer
Some actual footage would be welcomed by fans at any moment, but for now, here’s Ferguson and a red-carpet statement necklace telling Variety about how “wet” the next season will be.