The White Lotus Star Teases “Very Meta” Season 3 Production

HBO has assembled a new star-studded cast for Season 3 of The White Lotus, as the live-action anthology series shifts to a new location and some sort of new predicament. This new roster of actors includes Fallout and The Righteous Gemstones star Walton Goggins, and he is shedding light on the experience thus far. In a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times, Goggins spoke about the process of filming Season 3 of The White Lotus, arguing that the experience has unintentionally become “meta.”

“It’s all very meta on every level,” Goggins revealed. “We’re guests checking into a hotel playing guests checking in to a hotel. We spend all this time together, whether we like it or not, eating breakfast, lunch and dinner. We work where we stay.”

Who Is Cast in The White Lotus Season 3?

The cast of Season 3 of The White Lotus is confirmed to include Carrie Coon, Leslie Bibb, Dom Hetrakul, Jason Isaacs, Walton Goggins, Sarah Catherine Hook, Sam Nivola, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Aimee Lou Wood, Michelle Monaghan, Parker Posey, Lisa, Scott Glenn, Tayme Thapthimthong, Julian Kostov, Christian Friedel, Morgana O’Reilly, Lek Patravadi, and Shalini Peiris. Natasha Rothwell will also be reprising her role as Belinda Lindsey from Season 1 of The White Lotus.

“I can’t say anything. I literally can’t,” Rothwell revealed in an interview late last year. “I will say I’ve read all of the scripts and people are in for a treat. It’s bigger than ever. Buckle up.”

What Will The White Lotus Season 3 Be About?

Shortly after the Season 2 finale, series creator Mike White teased that the new batch of episodes would hypothetically tackle religion, as the previous seasons tackled money and sex. 

“The first season kind of highlighted money,” White explained at the time. “And then, the second season is sex. And I think the third season would be maybe a kind of satirical and funny look at death and Eastern religion and spirituality. And it feels like it could be a rich tapestry to do another round at White Lotus.” 

Where Will The White Lotus Season 3 Be Set?

At a recent keynote address at the Tokyo Film Festival, Japanese producer Georgina Pope revealed that a “high profile showrunner” (who was later confirmed to be White) scouted locations in Japan, but ultimately chose to film in Thailand due to increased tax incentives.

“It was a great scout. We saw some absolutely stunning locations all over Honshu. The showrunner loved it all, and I was feeling very confident that I had it all in the bag,” Pope said. “The Thai government had just announced a renewal and improvement on their film incentive system. A 30 percent rebate. For their project, that meant $4.4 million alone,” Pope said. “Everyone looked at me with sympathy. At the time in Japan, we had no incentive in place at all. I could not respond with a concrete answer. All I could hear was the sound of a $35 million project flying out the window.”