While Amazon's live-action Alex Rider is currently over, the chances of Season 4 being made have received an update from the cast and crew.
Alex Rider has run for three seasons adapting the young spy novels of Anthony Horowitz. The show has adapted three of the 14 novels published so far from 2000 to 2023, those novels being Point Blanc, Eagle Strike, and Scorpia.
Across its three seasons, Alex Rider has multiple homes, including Amazon Prime Video, IMDb TV, and Amazon Freevee. But now, the Amazon-produced British spy thriller has come to a close after releasing its third and final season on April 5.
Alex Rider Season 4 Gets an Update
Despite the decision to close out the spy thriller after Season 3, Alex Rider Season 4 received an update from two leading stars during an interview with HeyUGuys.
Alex Rider actor Otto Farrant called Season 3 - which adapts Book 5, Scorpia - "the last in this chapter" of the spy saga:
"It's the last in this chapter, I believe. Our chapter. And yeah, what a way to finish."
Vicky McClure, who plays MI6 boss Mrs. Jones, added how "everything comes to an end" in this story before teasing "Who knows what's next:"
"Everything comes to an end, so to speak, but this is the end of this chapter. Who knows what's next."
Speaking with AssignmentX, the franchise author Anthony Horowitz noted how he was "not entirely sure that [they] are ending the series." He went on to explain how he hopes Alex Rider will return to screens, seemingly teasing a new home for the series in saying, "There are plenty of other streamers out there:"
"Well, I’m not entirely sure that we are ending the series. There is always hope that we’ll come back in another form, or another shape, if not with Freevee, then with somebody else. There are plenty of other streamers out there, and this is the best of the three seasons, I think, so I do hope, given that there are another nine books out there, that Alex Rider will be seen on the screen again."
Horowitz dubbed the three Alex Rider seasons as the "Scorpia trilogy" focused on the evil organization that comes to a climax in Season 3. He called the end of that story "the right place to stop, at least with Freevee," once again hinting a new home may be on the horizon for Alex Rider:
“That said, when I was talking to Guy Burt, and we had done 'Point Blanc' [as Season 1] and 'Eagle Strike' [as Season 2], we saw that what we had was a trilogy. This was going to be the 'Scorpia' trilogy, which would introduce Scorpia, the evil organization, in Season 1, develop that in Season 2, and then come to a climax in Season 3. And I think that when I look at what we’ve done now on the screen, it does feel like a complete unit, and that it is the right place to stop, at least with Freevee. Let’s see what happens next.”
The author explained how difficulties caused by the pandemic have made development "a very slow process" with long gaps between seasons:
“Yes. It was inevitable we would have to stop after Season 3 anyway. COVID and other circumstances have meant that this has been a very slow process, bringing Season 3 to the screen. It’s been more than a year since 'Alex Rider' was actually out there on the [previous] season."
If Alex Rider does come back for Season 4 eventually, he does hint that "recasting would [be] necessary" as the leading young actors continue to mature past their characters' teenage ages in the books:
"So, we have reached the natural pausing place, and recasting would have been necessary, no matter what happened."
He noted his desire to adapt the last two books, Nightshade and Nightshade Revenge, with a "different Alex." Horowitz suggested the adaptation could "reboot, rethink, and reimagine" to continue going forward:
“Again, I don’t know. I would love to see 'Nightshade' and 'Nightshade Revenge" filmed. I think they make a fantastic pair, and to do that with a different Alex, perhaps not with the Department, because they don’t really feature in those stories, to sort of reboot, rethink, and reimagine. All of this is possible. And it’s only because this season is so good that I hope that it isn’t completely over. But if it is, it’s a great place to finish.”
When questioned how Alex Rider's spy experience would be explained in a potential reboot, the author explained they would "throw the audience into the middle and let them pick things up as we move forward.”
In terms of other projects coming up for Horowitz, the actor has written, created, and executive produced a new six-part limited series for MGM+ called Nine Bodies in a Mexican Morgue which begins production in May 2024.
On top of that, he is currently writing a sequel to his 2020 mystery novel Moonflower Murders which he hopes to turn into a TV adaptation next year.
Will Alex Rider Season 4 Ever Happen?
In the Alex Rider books, the young spy begins his journey in Stormbreaker at age 14 and grows up to 16 by Nightshade Revenge. As the London-born Otto Farrant is now 27 years old, it's safe to say the actor is aging out of the role as Alex Rider being a teenage spy is essential to the stories and the franchise's premise.
While Alex Rider could keep around the same creative team as the Amazon series has received mostly positive reactions, a recast is undoubtedly needed to replace Farrant with a younger actor more in line with the character's age.
When Farrant was cast as Alex Rider, he was 22 years old and far older than the character has ever been portrayed. As such, if the series were to run for multiple years, the actor's age was always going to become an obstacle.
It's unclear whether the aging on-screen talent is the reason for Alex Rider's recent end or if the decision came down to viewership. If the cancellation came from the latter, the chances are far slimmer that Alex Rider will be resurrected for Season 4 or that it could even spawn another adaptation anytime soon.
At least for now, Alex Rider's live-action adventures are at an end with no Season 4 in sight at any network or service. But perhaps the spy thriller could find itself a new streaming home to continue the adaptation in the coming years, presumably with a new cast that may even be billed as a whole new show and not Season 4.
If the show were to come back, Anthony Horowitz appears to have his sights on adapting the two latest novels, Nightshade and Nightshade Revenge. This could suggest future Alex Rider adventures may not necessarily follow the chronological order of the novels and rather could jump about the spy timeline.
Alex Rider is streaming now on Amazon Freevee.
