Those who caught the Bates Motel panel at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con will undoubtedly have been saddened to hear that the fifth season will be its last. It’s understandable considering the developments of the Season 4 finale, which – SPOILER ALERT – saw young Norman (Freddie Highmore) finally do what we had been waiting for him to do since the beginning and murder his mother Norma (Vera Farmiga).
Now, it seems that Season 5 will hew even closer to the plot of Robert Bloch’s Psycho and Alfred Hitchcock’s movie, as it has been confirmed that Marion Crane – the ill-fated heroine played by Janet Leigh in the 1960 original – in the final season, and will be played by none other than Rihanna.
Speaking of the decision to include Marion, executive producers Carlton Cuse and Kerry Ehrin said: “We wanted to thrust the iconic role into a contemporary spotlight and redefine it in a meaningful and exciting new way. We also heard Rihanna was a fan of the show, and we were huge fans of hers, so it was the perfect collision of creativity and fate.”
While we’ve been only sporadic watchers of the show, it’ll be interesting to see how this turns out: for how many episodes she’s present for, for how closely she hews to the events of the movie, which saw her on the run with a substantial amount of money from her former employers, and indeed, whether she meets the same fate. Whatever happens, it’ll be an intriguing ending for a show that has lasted far longer than we expected it to, and continued to provide surprise after surprise. Besides, Rihanna’s going to be in it – what more can you say?
Bates Motel: Season 5 will air on A&E in the US in 2017, with a UK air date to be announced. For all the latest TV news, pick up the new issue of SciFiNow.
