As question marks hover over Tom Hardy’s future on MobLand, the actor has reportedly decided not to return for the third season.
The 48-year-old star plays street-smart fixer Harry De Souza in the gang drama directed by Guy Ritchie, which also stars Dame Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan and Paddy Considine.
Ahead of season two coming out, however, Hardy has been the subject of explosive rumours on set, with sources originally claiming he had been fired due to tensions between himself and the producers, including showrunner Jez Butterworth and David Glasser.
Later, insiders revealed he hadn’t been axed from the show, and his future was still being decided, detailing that he had been accused of holding filming up by refusing to leave his trailer and disgruntling his A-List co-stars as a result.
At the same time, Dame Mirren posted an image of Hardy to Instagram with the caption ‘Love you now and always Helen’, which is the most direct response anyone on set has had to the speculation.
Variety then reported that the ‘door was not closed’, and they were ‘creatively working through’ a plan to keep Hardy on board for the next season, which is yet to be officially greenlit.
Now, in the latest twist in the ongoing saga, Page Six has claimed that the Venom star himself has reportedly decided to step back from the show after a turbulent second season.
The publication even reports that major Hollywood stars like Idris Elba and Colin Farrell had been approached to replace him.
It claims that Hardy requested scripts well in advance, but new showrunner Butterworth (who replaced Top Boy boss Ronan Bennett) wasn’t able to deliver them, with the cast sometimes required to learn lines on the day.
The disjointed rhythm led to delays and panic over budgets from the studio, it is understood.
‘You have an A-plus writer who’s got a lot of power and who has a methodology of “I don’t know where this is going” and then an A-plus actor who is used to knowing the entire arc of a character in a story.
‘It was all very passive-aggressive and British. It wasn’t even a feud,’ an insider shared.
Meanwhile, if his exit from the show transpires to be true, then another insider has told The Sun that reshoots for season two to explain his absence could cost millions, given his pivotal role in the show.
The source said: ‘[His role] means they will have to alter the end of the second series, which has only just been made – and that will cost millions in extra time spent developing, filming and editing.
‘It’s not clear if Tom will even return to film any new scenes, or whether the producers are just going to have to be incredibly creative in tying up the second series.
‘And then they’ve got to start thinking about the overwhelming prospect of delivering series three.’
MobLand season one is available to stream on Paramount Plus now. There is currently no release date for season two.
Metro has reached out to Tom Hardy’s representatives and Paramount Plus for comment.
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