‘Kingdom’ Season 3: Special Episode Release Date Announced & What to Expect

 

Fans will crave a third season of Kingdom after another thrilling episode. We’re still waiting for Netflix to confirm that a third season is happening, but we can look forward to the one-hour special episode “Ashin of the North” which arrives July 2021.

Kim Eun-hee is the creator of Kingdom, a Netflix Original South Korean horror show. Based on the novel Land of the Gods by Kim Eunhee, the series was created. The horror series was first available on Netflix in 2019.

Is Kingdom renewed for the third season?

Current Official Netflix Renewal Status (Last Updated on 04/06/2021).

We’re over a year on since the release of Kingdom season two on Netflix, and sadly we’re still yet to hear any news that the series has been renewed for season three.

After confirmation of a bonus episode that will explore the character Gianna Jun (played by Jun Ji-hyun), our confidence in Kingdom's return has grown significantly. Kingdom: Ashin the North will return to Netflix July 23, 2021.

Despite the lack of renewal, we’re still confident that the series will be returning for a third season. The Hollywood Reporter has interviewed director Park inje and screenwriter Kim Eunhee to increase our confidence.

Kim Eun-hee answered the question about how many stories she has left and the number of them.

Strangely enough, Kingdom is a series that gives me more energy the more I write it. The cast and crew all have great chemistry, and there’s so much more to tell. If viewers allow, I would love to see it develop even up to season 10.

The last we’ve heard from Kim Eun-hee was her discussing what role Jun Ji Hyun may have to play in season three:

I think Jun Ji Hyun will become a central role alongside the main characters from season one and two.

We are thrilled to see how excited Kim Eun-hee has been about Kingdom's future. This is true for both fans and ourselves. Ten seasons is incredibly ambitious, but considering how popular the horror series has become, who’s to say it couldn’t reach double figures?

Kingdom season 3: What can you expect?

Below we’ll be discussing what we can expect to see from the third season of Kingdom.

*Spoilers: Kingdom season 2*

Norther Outbreak

We learned that Prince Chang had faked his death seven years ago. Young-Shin reunited with Cho Beom Pal to tell us that his royal highness was investigating the resurrection plant and hunting it throughout Korea. The resurrection plant was found in many parts of Korea and that a Chinese/Korean seller had been selling it to common people.

Prince Chang Seobi and his guard north discovered an abandoned village. They soon found out that the village was infected. They were able to dispatch one undead and the bells rang again among the trees, indicating that more infected people were coming.

With only three trained fighters among them, from what we saw, it’s highly likely that Prince Chang may need to retreat from the north. There could be another zombie outbreak north of the border if there are not enough soldiers to defeat them.

Who are the Plant Sellers?

The mysterious vendor north was traced and it became clear that the woman who was trying to spread plague was actually a woman. Although her motives remain unclear, one peasant revealed that he bought the resurrection plant at the border of China and Korea. This suggests she may be working for Ming Dynasty.

It could also be a plan to wipe out the Korean population and allow Chinese forces easy access to it.

Or, perhaps she just wants to see the world go by.

What is the new prince of the undead?

Although the baby Prince was able to remove the worms, at least one parasite remained. It stayed dormant for a while until the brain developed sufficiently to allow it take control.

For now, all we know is that the worm carrying the infection has spread to the Prince’s brain. It may have a different impact on the prince than other victims, considering it's been dormant for seven long years.

It would be easy for the infection to take the prince and turn him into an insane monster, spreading plague inside the palace walls, etc. It’s likely we’ll see a new form of contamination, one that may corrupt his mind until eventually turning him into a smarter and even deadlier zombie.

Is there a way to cure this disease?

Seobi spent seven years researching a cure to the undead plague. The only thing that had made any progress was the finding that water can kill the worms on victims.

Seobi's research enabled her to compile all the information we had about the virus.

• Weather can affect the worms. They prefer colder temperatures to warmth. However, they are volatile when subjected to high heat.
• The months of Summer and Spring saw the undead go dormant.
• The undead only become active in Autumn and Winter when the temperatures fall.
• From the Winter solstice to the first day in Spring, the dead are still active every day.
• The worms will be destroyed by submerging victims in warm water immediately before they become infected.

Unfortunately, Seobi was mistaken regarding newborn immunity. The worms remained dormant in the prince's body even though he had submerged his wounds.

Seobi’s research has been left in the hands of Cho Beom-Pal, in case of another outbreak, which may arrive sooner than anyone would have expected.

Kim Eun-hee’s update

In the same discussion where screenwriter Kim Eun-hee spoke of Jun Ji Hyun’s role in Kingdom, she revealed a little of what we can expect from the third season:

Season one told the story of hunger and season two told the story of blood. If Netflix agrees, I want season three to tell the story of resentment. Season two brought attention to the concept of ‘temperature’ and I think if the story were to travel north, the different ecosystem in the North would act as a hint.

Kingdom Season Three Casting News

Many cast members were saddened to see the end of the second season.

One cast member we’ll definitely be seeing more of for the third season will be Jun Ji Hyun. Although it may not be familiar to some, Jun Ji Hyun, a South Korean actress, was seen dying in Kingdom season 2, revealing that she is the one responsible for spreading the resurrection flower throughout Korea.

In late 2019, Jun Ji Hyun was cast. However, her identity had been closely guarded. Now we understand the reason, as her casting almost confirms that Kingdom will be having a third season.

Cast members, we’re expecting to see returning for season three are:

Role	Actor/Actress	Where have I seen/heard them before?
Crown Prince Chang	Ju Ji-Hoon	Asure: The City of Madness | Antique | The Spy Gone North
Seo-Bi	Bae Doo-Na	Sense8 | Cloud Atlas | The Host
Young-Shin	Kim Sung-Kyu	The Outlaws | Tunnel | The Accidental Detective
Jo Beom-Pal	Jun Suk-Ho	Strong Woman Do Bong-Soon | Intruders | Lucid Dream
Moo Young’s Wife	Ahn Eun Jin	Hospital Playlist | Stranger From Hell | The Crowned Clown

We’ll ensure to catch you up on all the latest news and information for the third season of Kingdom.

What date can filming begin on Kingdom's third season?

As it was for multiple Netflix Originals, the global pandemic was the greatest obstacle to its future.

With no news confirmed that Kingdom is returning for a season 3 it’s hard to speculate when we can expect the filming to begin.

What date can we look forward to Kingdom Season 3 on Netflix?

As we’ve speculated above, Covid-19 could greatly impact the production of the third season, which means we could see the series delayed by of least a few months.

It’s becoming increasingly less likely we’ll see Kingdom return in any capacity in 2021. We can expect the series' return on Netflix in 2022.

What number of episodes will Season 3 feature?

We’ve always known that Kingdom had been pushed from eight episodes to twelve, but plans for a third season may not have been considered if it wasn’t for the overwhelming popularity.

Now that we’re in uncharted territory, we could see even more episodes of Kingdom. We’d certainly like to see more, but the cost of making Kingdom is extremely expensive. Netflix can often be strict with the number of episodes in an Original, so don’t be surprised to see the series return with another six episodes.

We would like to see six more episodes of Kingdom season 3, but we are happy with just the amount of zombie terror.

Do you want to see Kingdom 3? Do you have any theories you’d love to share? Let us know what you think in the comments!