Ryan Murphy, creator of the FX anthology series American Horror Story, pulled a fast one on us. Murphy has said in the past that there would someday be a "very bizarre" crossover season of the show that would feature returning characters from the Murder House and Coven (pictured above) seasons. It was rumored that the next season of the show, its eighth, would be that crossover season, but then Murphy said outright that the crossover would not happen in season 8 because the cast members weren't available. Instead, the crossover would probably happen in season 9.
Either plans and schedules changed or Murphy was purposely spreading misinformation, because today he took to his Twitter account to announce that
The Coven/Murder House AHS crossover season won't be happening next year…because it's happening THIS YEAR. AHS #8 WITCHES RULE THIS SEPTEMBER
What we had heard about the new season up to this point is that it's set "18 months from today" and is set to star Sarah Paulson, Kathy Bates, Billie Lourd (as a new character), Evan Peters (as a comedic character who works as a hairstylist), and Joan Collins (as the grandmother of Peters' character). Anjelica Huston is in talks to take a role, but hasn't been confirmed yet.
Just a few days ago, Murphy told Entertainment Weekly,
You will see so many fan favorites return (this season) that you’ll feel like it’s The Love Boat. It’s a very high concept. It’s a season unlike anything we’ve done because there’s a big hook to it. There’s a huge thing that happens in episode five."
The new season begins filming this month.