‘The Crown’ Has Found Its Dodi Fayed While Preparing To Tackle The Final Months Of Princess Diana’s Life

Despite facing intense criticism from friends of the Royal Family for its depiction of Prince Charles and Princess Diana‘s courtship and early marriage, Netflix’s original series The Crown is moving full steam ahead on its fifth season, moving towards the final years of Diana’s life. As part of the process, Netflix has announced The Kite Runner star Khalid Abdalla has been cast as playboy film producer Dodi Fayed, who famously dated Princess Di before the two were killed in a car accident in Paris that has been the source of (mostly debunked) conspiracy theories for over 20 years.

However, the creative team will be facing an uphill challenge when it comes to portraying Fayed, according to Variety:

While Debicki will have plenty of material to draw on given Diana was, at the time, the world’s most photographed woman, Abdalla, who has starred in Paul Greengrass’s “United 93” and “Green Zone,” is not so lucky: Dodi reportedly never gave a single interview during his lifetime.

As mentioned in earlier reports, producers are staying mum on whether the Netflix series will portray the infamous crash that took Fayed and Diana’s life. The show may choose to focus on the tumultuous events leading up to the crash, and the ensuing fallout when the Queen’s popularity plummeted after she was heavily criticized in the aftermath of Diana’s death.

Due to pandemic delays, The Crown Season 5 does not have a release date, but is expected to premiere sometime in 2022.