#Manifest Boss Hopes Entire Cast Will Return for Final Season

Manifest might be saved at Netflix, but it seems the entire cast is still not locked in for the final season.

Now, Jeff Rake, the series creator, is opening up about negotiations with the cast.

“We haven’t finished those conversations yet,” he revealed to Entertainment Weekly.

“I am hopeful that everybody is back. As you and I are talking right now, negotiations continue.

“I’m cautiously optimistic that all of our favorite characters will be returning to the story.”

It was previously reported by Deadline that only Melissa Roxburgh’s Michaela Stone and Josh Dallas’s Ben Stone had closed deals to return.

The good news is that negotiations are still underway, but when cast options expire, it isn’t easy to get everyone back together.

Hopefully, for the fans, all the cast will return in some capacity, but the time of deals closing could hinder a production date this year.

“We certainly expect to be in production this calendar year. I’m hopeful that cameras are rolling in November or December latest,” Rake continued. 

“We’re going to work as fast as we can while still keeping an eye on quality control, because we want to get episodes to everyone as soon as possible.”

“We also want them to be excellent. It might take a minute for a brand-new batch of episodes to show up in people’s homes, but it’s going to be worth the wait.”

Manifest was canceled by NBC after three seasons, and negotiations for the series to continue at another outlet died pretty quickly.

However, the series was introduced to a legion of new fans when it launched on Netflix, pushing the streamer to re-enter negotiations to pick it up.

NBC was also said to be in negotiations after the cancellations of both Good Girls and an in-the-works Law & Order spinoff.

Ultimately, the terms of the deal were much more favorable at Netflix, leading to a formal pickup on 828 day.

“Never in my wildest dreams could I have envisioned the worldwide outpouring of love and support for this story, its characters, and the team who work so hard to bring it all to life,” Rake said in a statement when the news was announced. 

“That we will be able to reward the fans with the ending they deserve moves me to no end.”

What are your thoughts on the pickup?

Do you think the entire cast will be back?

Are you happy the show has moved to Netflix?

Remember, you can watch Manifest online right here via TV Fanatic.

Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.