White Lotus S3 is slated to release in 2025. Photo: YouTube / HBOMax
The first preview of The White Lotus season three has arrived. On Tuesday, HBO Max released a compilation trailer showcasing the streaming service's upcoming projects for the back-end of 2024 and going into 2025, featuring snippets of The Last of Us season two, Dune: Prophecy and more.
But the two-minute trailer revealed little about Mike White's beloved murder mystery anthology - The White Lotus bit ran at just six seconds long. Let's take a closer look.
What do we know about season three so far?
After two hit seasons, it was announced in November, 2022 that the acclaimed show had been renewed for a third, however production had been halted due to actors and writers' strikes. The tiny new teaser tells us everything is back on track, with the upcoming season slated for release in 2025.
Season one was set in Maui, Hawaii with a focus on money - and what wealth does to a person as they frolick amongst the palm trees. Season two saw viewers head to the caves and crystal clear waters of Sicily, delving into sex - as a means of connection, control, and endless insecurity. Next we will fly to Thailand, with a new group of guests staying at a luxury White Lotus, unpacking a different theme.
The second season of The White Lotus. Photo: Supplied
"I think the third season, it would be maybe a kind of satirical and funny look at death and Eastern religion and spirituality. It feels like it could be a rich tapestry to do another round at White Lotus," White told HBO in an interview.
"Maybe after sex [in season two] it would be nice to have something that's a little more celestial or something that's a little more out of the carnal, I guess. But I don't know. I have to beg off, to be honest, because I don't really know."
What can we get from the season three teaser?
The sunsoaked, sepia-toned trailer reveals a luxurious Thailand setting; a boat jets past idyllic coves, guests lounge beside the resort's stunning swimming pool, and we get a glipse at our guests as a voiceover reveals: 'What happens in Thailand, stays in Thailand'.
The six-second teaser is careful not to reveal too much, besides confirmation that it is coming in 2025 - however, it does show one returning guest from season one - Maui spa manager Belinda (Natasha Rothwell).
Who are the guests?
The White Lotus features a (mostly) new cast and resort location each installment - the only common thread is the narrative format, with the hook of a murder. With elements of perfectly-timed drama and comedy, the anthology explores all the characters who have tangential and thematic connections to the foul play.
In January 2024, HBO released the first set of names on the new cast: Parker Posey, Jason Isaacs, Leslie Bibb, Dom Hetrakul, Michelle Monaghan, Tayme Thapthimthong, Aimee Lou Wood, Walton Goggins, Sarah Catherine Hook, Sam Nivola, and Patrick Schwarzenegger - son of Arnold.
In August, IMDb published the full cast list, which features Carrie Coon, Arnas Fedaravicius, Scott Glenn, Charlotte Le Bon, Sarah Catherine Hook, Leslie Bibb, Nicholas Duvernay, Christian Friedel, Dom Hetrakul, Julian Kostov, Lalisa Manoban, and Morgana O'Reilly.
Photo: Morgana O'Reilly
There's a Kiwi connection
New Zealand actress Morgana O'Reilly has been cast in the new season. In an April interview with RNZ Afternoons, she told Jesse Mulligan she couldn't quite believe it.
"I did a self-tape ... then like two weeks later, I got some nice feedback … I was actually at a friend's wedding. She was about to come down the aisle so I went and sat in the audience ... I wanted to stop the wedding. I was like this'll do me for years, so nice. To just have somebody acknowledge [my tape] and like it, and especially them, was gorgeous."
A few weeks later she got the gig - but who O'Reilly plays is still under wraps.
Will there be any familiar faces?
It makes sense Rothwell is returning as Belinda, considering her background in wellness and the show's shift to focus on religion and spirituality. However two more cast members might be returning for season three, if a 2022 interview with White is anything to go by.
Tanya (Jennifer Coolidge)'s tragic and comical death at the end of season two elevated the characters of her husband Greg (Jon Gries) and personal assistant Portia (Haley Lu Richardson). Currently, we don't know where Greg is.
Jennifer Coolidge’s Tanya McQuoid and her now third husband Greg (Jon Gries) are back for a second visit to The White Lotus. Photo: Supplied
"I think as far as, like, what happens to Greg and the conspiracy of Tanya's death, it's possible that I think Portia is scared enough to just leave it alone ... but the fact that all of those guys die on the boat, it feels like there's gotta be somebody who's going to track it back down to Greg. But maybe you'll have to wait and find out what happens," White told HBO.