A new guest is checking into The White Lotus next season.
HBO star and frequent Mike White collaborator Laura Dern has been added to the Season 4 cast of The White Lotus, Deadline reports. The Big Little Lies star will be replacing Helena Bonham Carter, who was a late addition to the series but was shockingly dismissed from production once they made it to set in France, where Season 4 will be taking place.
Instead of taking over Carter’s role, Dern will reportedly play a completely new character written and developed just for her.
The outlet reports, after Carter’s exit, “A decision was made to rework and recast it, with Dern quickly emerging as a top choice.” Carter’s role was reportedly “central to the Season 4 story.”
Previous reports indicate Carter exited the show just as production began in the French Riviera. A spokesperson for HBO said the character “did not align.”
“With filming just underway on Season 4 of The White Lotus, it had become apparent that the character which Mike White created for Helena Bonham Carter did not align once on set,” the HBO spokesperson said, per Deadline. “The role has subsequently been rethought, is being rewritten and will be recast in the coming weeks. HBO, the producers and Mike White are saddened that they won’t get to work with her, but remain ardent fans and very much hope to work with the legendary actress on another project soon.”
Sources claim White, who singlehandedly directs and writes the series, realized Carter’s “character as originally conceived was not what it should be,” leading them to rework the story and recast the role.
This isn’t Dern’s first time working on The White Lotus. The Golden Globe-winning actress played an uncredited voice role as Abby, the estranged wife to Michael Imperioli’s Season 2 character Dominic Di Grasso.
The new season of The White Lotus is expected to take place during Cannes Film Festival. Dern will be joining a star-studded cast which includes Kumail Nanjiani, Vincent Cassel, Steve Coogan, Chris Messina, AJ Michalka, Caleb Jonte Edwards, Dylan Ennis, Corentin Fila, Ari Graynor, Marissa Long, Alexander Ludwig, and Nadia Tereszkiewicz
The White Lotus Season 4 premiere date has not been announced yet. But with production underway in France, fans should likely expect new episodes at some point in 2027.
The White Lotus is streaming now on HBO Max.