Lucifer fans who were already celebrating a surprise sixth season might have been a little hasty. The show could be in some trouble over behind-the-scenes disputes that are critical to its future. Earlier this year, news began to spread that a deal for Season 6 may be happening at Netflix after hopes for one seemed to be dashed.
Now, the fan-favorite’s future is in jeopardy once more. Lucifer fans keeping up with the latest developments knew there were some things that needed to happen for Season 6 to materialize. One of them had seemed to be covered in the form of Tom Ellis returning to play the title role. He was reportedly on board back in March. Well, April is a slightly different story.
TVLine reports that negotiations between Tom Ellis and Warner Bros. Television have come to a crashing halt. What happened? Ellis has reportedly rejected the latest contract offer. That being said, Ellis is said to be contractually obligated to star in a Season 6, so he could face issues in the form of a breach of contract if he does stay true to the deal.
Warner Bros. has reportedly made multiple changes to the contract in order to appease Tom Ellis. However, they have apparently reached their limit. Is the ball now in Ellis’ court? Lucifer fans are undoubtedly on the edges of their seats, waiting to find out. Ellis plays the lead, so it has to be tough to imagine Season 6 moving forward without him.
It is unclear why Tom Ellis is supposedly dissatisfied with the latest offer made by the studio. Ellis has played the title role of Lucifer since the beginning, and Season 6 should theoretically be in a precarious position if a deal cannot be reached. For now, fans can count on the fifth season arriving this year.
Of course, it is essential to remember that Season 6 did not even seem like a possibility months ago. If talks could even begin, who knows what the future could hold? Netflix took fans by surprise when it announced that it had renewed Lucifer for a fifth and final season last year.
That cancellation came despite Lucifer’s reportedly impressive binge views for its fourth season, which was also its first on Netflix. Fans did not take the announcement lying down. They went into action again. Remember, they helped the supernatural series get another season on Netflix in the first place.
Fans started petitioning for Season 6. Regardless, Lucifer looked like it would end with its fifth outing. At the time, the series’ co-showrunner cautioned that a fight for Season 6 at Netflix “would not change things.” Considering everything that happened, you can imagine the fanbase’s joyous surprise at the potential for another season. Now, they are in limbo again.
Thankfully, fans definitively have a super-sized fifth season to look forward to. The 16-episode installment will be split into two halves, though. For now, Lucifer’s future is up in the air as Tom Ellis’ reported contract dispute plays out behind-the-scenes. Ellis has brought the character from Fox to Netflix and The CW by way of that Arrow-verse crossover.
Will Tom Ellis continue his run on Lucifer? Stay tuned. You can stream the first four seasons of Lucifer on Netflix. Season 5 is set to be among Netflix’s 2020 premieres, so stay tuned. While you wait for updates on that potential Season 6, check out what spring TV has in store.
