'Dark' season 3: Newcomers Barbara Nüsse and Nina Kronjäger may play older versions of these characters in the time-travel-based Netflix show
Netflix's sci-fi time travel thriller 'Dark' is noteworthy for a lot of things. From making a mark for its treatment of time travel by steering clear of several tropes to encapsulating science fiction, mythology, religion, and family drama, it makes one enthralling series to watch. One sector where the show's attention to detail is praiseworthy is in its casting.
The German series is based in the fictional town of Winden and travels back and forth in time in 33-year cycles. The casting didn't just involve three generations of the four families at the heart of the show, but also three time periods of main characters.
The unusual plot is strung together by actors who look perfect as their younger and/or older selves. Creator Jantje Friese credits casting director Simone Bär for getting it right. "The casting director did a fantastic job. I still think that young Katharina is related to Old Katharina now because they just look the same. That’s crazy because usually, you have to look for nose [physiology] because that's the most [obvious] pointing thing," she had said in an interview.
Casting someone just for the sake of it wouldn't be possible in a series like 'Dark' as the core mystery is tied to the characters. "We have three age groups, and once you find one, then everything needs to relate to that person. When you see them in life and flesh, they don’t look that much alike. So it’s really about going through the makeup process and trying to find out what you do with the hair and face. Old Ines (Angela Winkler) in actual life has a mole, so we put that on younger Ines (Anne Ratte-Polle) when we tried to make them match."
In the third and final season, series regulars Louis Hofmann, Jordis Triebel, Lisa Vicari, Mark Waschke, Andreas Pietschmann and Lea van Acken return. Newcomers to the cast are Barbara Nüsse, Hans Diehl, Jakob Diehl, Nina Kronjäger, Sammy Scheuritzel and Axel Werner.
Based on these new additions to the cast, we can speculate which characters they will play.
Nina Kronjäger as Martha?
Nina could play a middle-aged Martha. But this is only possible if she is playing the character in the parallel world because the "real" Martha is killed towards the end of season two.
Barbara Nüsse as Elisabeth Doppler?
The 76-year-old Nüsse seems to be an apt choice to play an older Elisabeth Doppler. She also happens to be 31 years older than the actress who dons the role of middle-aged Elisabeth played by 45-year-old Sandra Borgmann. This is considering the middle-aged Elisabeth isn't killed off.
It is fully possible that the new actors would play new characters. But given how nothing happens on 'Dark' randomly, these speculations might just fit.
As with the previous two seasons of 'Dark', Jantje Friese wrote all eight episodes of season three, with Baran bo Odar directing and Nikolaus Summerer as the cinematographer. W&B Television returns as the producer on 'Dark', with W&B's Quirin Berg and Max Wiedemann as executive producers alongside Friese and Odar.