Henry Thomas will be back for more ghost-action in The Haunting of Bly Manor

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

It's getting all American Horror Story over at Netflix. The second season of Mike Flanagan's horror anthology series is gearing up and its cast is looking awfully familiar. In addition to Victoria Pedretti and Oliver Jackson-Cohen, it's also been announced that Henry Thomas will be back for more ghost-action as well.

Henry Thomas played the younger incarnation of Hugh Crain in The Haunting of Hill House, the family patriarch who moved his family into the haunted mansion with the intention of fixing it up and selling it. We don't have any details on just who Thomas will be playing in the second season, which now goes by The Haunting of Bly Manor, but we do know that it will be based on "The Turn of the Screw" by Henry James and feature a new story with all-new characters. In a Twitter post, Mike Flanagan said, "I'm beyond thrilled to announce that the inestimable, irreplaceable, invaluable Henry Thomas has joined the cast of The Haunting of Bly Manor." In regards to Victoria Pedretti and Oliver Jackson-Cohen, (who played Nell and Luke Crain in the first season), Pedretti will be playing Dani, a governess who is looking after two unique children in an old country mansion, while Jackson-Cohen is set to play Peter, who has been described as a charming fellow. As far as who else might be returning, Carla Gugino, who played Olivia Crain, has previously teased that she's been "talking a lot" with Mike Flanagan about coming back should her schedule allow it.

Mike Flanagan revealed earlier this month that The Haunting of Bly Manor is shaping up to be an even scarier experience than The Haunting of Hill House. "For Henry James fans, it’s going to be pretty wild, and for people who aren’t familiar with his work, it’s going to be unbelievably scary," Flanagan said. "I already think it’s much scarier than season one, so I’m very excited about it." Flanagan also said that in addition to "The Turn of the Screw," The Haunting of Bly Manor will be drawing upon other Henry James stories as well.

We’re looking at all the ghost stories of Henry James as the jumping-off point for the season, so it very much is a whole new deal. It’s a cool way to expand on some of the things I loved about season one, but within the framework of a new story, without having to be restrained by the decisions we made last time.

The Haunting of Bly Manor will premiere on Netflix in 2020.