‘Homeland’ season 4: Claire Danes on work without Damian Lewis

Things have been all quiet on the “Homeland” front as of late, with the biggest reason for that being merely that the show has not yet started filming its fourth season. A good percentage of filming is going to take place in Cape Town, South Africa, and will begin there next month.

While at a TV Academy event this weekend, showrunner Alex Gansa noted that there were many different plans that were considered to get the show where it is today. These included potentially having Saul kill Brody, and even at one point keeping him alive and having him seek asylum in Iran. At the end of the day, though, having him die in Front of Carrie via hanging was the dramatic way to go that also changes her character for good.

Danes also said (per THR) that going back to filming is going to be a pretty bizarre experience without Damian Lewis, and it may take a while for her to have it sink in that he is gone:

“I don’t think it’s really going to occur to me until we start filming again and Damian’s not there making fun of me in the makeup trailer … I think [Carrie] shelved a lot of feelings. And they will dog her through the season… Realistically, Brody was broken in away he couldn’t be mended. What was his place in society?”

It may pain us to say, but getting rid of Brody was the right decision for the show. there was nowhere else that the character could go, and the writers made a tough, but correct, decision on the subject.

As for what Damian is doing next. he has a slate of films coming up, and he may also appear in the Civil War miniseries “To Appomattox.” That project is being funded on Kickstarter, and Lewis would play William T. Sherman if everything works out financially. Creator Michael Frost Beckner told us recently that he actually discussed the project with Lewis before doing “Homeland,’ and after he landed the role on the Showtime series the two discussed him playing a smaller role. However, now that his time as Brody is over, he is back currently attached to the Sherman part.