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It’s hard to believe that it’s been nearly three months since the last time we checked in how things were going production-wise on Netflix and series creator Jeff Rake‘s 20-episode fourth & final season of Manifest. That’s when we learned that the season-opener Episode 401 would be titled “Touch-and-Go” (so much double-meaning in that), written by Rake & Simran Baidwan and directed by Romeo Tirone. Well, just to give you an idea of just how much Rake, the cast, and the production team have accomplished, one of Rake’s tweets confirmed that they were working on Episode 406. In fact, Rake has had some interesting updates this month that we thought we would share, from some serious drone action to what appears to be the show’s creepy homage to Chucky from the USA Network & SYFY series as well as the “Child’s Play” film franchise (especially the “close-up” image). But we think it might be the graveyard/funeral scene that Rake tweeted an image from (with the warning, “Brace yourselves”) that will get fans talking.
When you get to the image in Rake’s tweet below, you’ll notice who you can take off your list right from the start: Jared (J.R. Ramirez), Saanvi (Parveen Kaur), Vance (Daryl Edwards), and Drea (Ellen Tamaki) aren’t in the casket. We know that Grace (Athena Karkanis) was left in a pretty bad place at the end of the third season so combine that with earlier reports that Karkanis wouldn’t be back for the final season, and we might know who’s in the casket. Of course, if you really want to live up to your “brace yourselves” warning, taking Ben (Josh Dallas), Michaela (Melissa Roxburgh), and/or Zeke (Matt Long) off the playing board would definitely be a “bold” move. A smart one? Oh, lord, no! But definitely “bold” and a “conversation”-starter. So from a drone to the stuff of our nightmares to a mysterious funeral scene, here’s how things are rolling on Manifest Season 4:
Before last year wrapped, Rake spoke with EW to offer some early Manifest updates on production as well as some personal insight into how he felt hearing the good news- here are some highlights:
The “Manifest” Endgame “Won’t Change At All”: “The good news is I am absolutely confident that 20 episodes give me enough time to tell the entirety of the story as I always intended to. When I’ve talked in the past about having a roadmap all the way to the end of the series, that didn’t mean that I had a roadmap for literally every single episode. I have a roadmap with a series of twists and turns and flags in the sand that we would ultimately hit in order to tell the core stories within our mythology and within our relationship drama. So it will not be a particularly difficult exercise to overlay that same exact roadmap onto 20 episodes. It will be quite organic.”
As for How the Episodes Will Release, That’s Netflix’s Call: “I don’t think that’s been decided. I don’t think that’s ultimately my decision. I’ll certainly have those conversations with Netflix. I’ll offer my opinion. I’m sure we will come together and come up with a game plan that makes the most sense for the show. The good news for the fans is that they can absolutely expect the same show that they’ve been watching. Netflix has been so lovely in my conversations with them so far. They’ve made it quite clear that they want us to keep making the same show that we’ve been making. The audience shouldn’t be concerned that the tone of the show is going to shift, or the method of storytelling is going to shift. We’re going to keep making the show that everyone fell in love with.”
Okay, All of the Business Stuff Aside. How Did Rake Feel When He Got “The News”: “Oh my goodness. It’s such a combination of emotions, from gratitude to humility to shock and awe and incredible excitement. It’s been a spectrum of emotions from June, when we got the bad news, to July, when we started sniffing the possibility of a future for us. Then there was a month of uncertainty where it looked like something might come together, but there were many hurdles to jump and so you manage your expectations. You’re hoping for the best but don’t want to go through a second round of disappointment. Thankfully I’ve had colleagues and family to accompany me along this journey, but the result is so incredible.”
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