Elijah Wood Joins Forces With Melissa Benoist in Paradise's Final season
LOTR icon Elijah Wood and a major DC star are officially boarding the final season of Hulu’s hit sci-fi thriller, cranking up the stakes after Season 2’s shocker, and a new behind-the-scenes image from creator Dan Fogelman is already igniting fresh fan theories about where the story goes next.
Hulu's sci-fi mind-bender Paradise is throwing even more fuel on the plot-twist fire for its third and final season, and the casting choices are genuinely wild. If you thought this show peaked after locking its main characters in a bunker, brace yourself—the next round apparently involves outer space and some major star power.
Big Names Beaming In
Dan Fogelman, the guy behind Paradise (not to mention This Is Us, for that emotional rollercoaster crowd), just announced that two heavy hitters are coming on board for the show's last hurrah:
- Elijah Wood—yes, Frodo himself, who somehow always looks both haunted and delighted no matter what galaxy he’s in.
- Melissa Benoist, who you probably still picture in a cape from her Supergirl days and who seems to be everywhere in prestige TV lately.
Fogelman dropped the news on Instagram, complete with a behind-the-scenes photo that shows Wood and Benoist suited up and standing in what looks like the deck of a spaceship. His caption? Simple, but loaded: ‘S3. You have no idea where this is going.’
From Bunkers to… the Final Frontier?
If you haven’t been following, Paradise started out as a post-apocalyptic mystery with everybody trapped underground after the end of the world—as you do. But by Season 2, the story drifted further into wild sci-fi territory, introducing an AI named Alex that might just save what’s left of humanity (or, you know, not). The season wrapped up with Sterling K. Brown's character, Xavier Collins, being sent off on a high-stakes mission involving the all-important AI after the original bunker set was basically toast.
Now, that new photo (and the conspicuously shiny spaceship setting) has fans speculating that the show is ditching its bunker drama for interstellar adventures, possible time-travel shenanigans, or maybe even multiverse hooks. Fogelman is keeping details about Wood and Benoist's characters tightly under wraps, but the imagery alone is a pretty loud hint: get ready for a major scope upgrade.
Who's Back—and Who Else Is New
Wood said yes to Paradise while also prepping his return as Frodo Baggins for the upcoming The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum movie. Meanwhile, Benoist is fresh off her run as the star of Supergirl and just popped up in Netflix’s The Waterfront. So, the star quota is covered.
They’ll join returning cast members:
- Sterling K. Brown
- Sarah Shahi
- Thomas Doherty
- Aliyah Mastin
Julianna Margulies is another big name lined up for Season 3, previously announced and ready to complicate matters even further.
How to Catch Up
If this all sounds bonkers and you’re new to Paradise (or just fell off somewhere in the bunker), the first two seasons are streaming on Hulu now. If you’re curious how a show goes from locked-room mystery thriller to starring Frodo on a spaceship, now’s a good time to jump back in.