Orphan Black Sequel Series Echoes Taps Krysten Ritter To Star

The "Orphan Black" universe is expanding and it just found its new heir apparent to Tatiana Maslany. Years after the current "She-Hulk" actor first wowed fans with her portrayal of dozens(!) of different clones, all with their distinct personalities and voices and mannerisms, AMC is moving forward with a new sequel series and has cast another formidable and talented actor to lead this new story. "Breaking Bad," "Don't Trust the B—- in Apartment 23," and "Jessica Jones" veteran Krysten Ritter has been chosen to headline "Orphan Black: Echoes," the new series set to debut in 2023 that we previously reported on here. The news comes courtesy of Variety, which reports that Ritter will also serve as an executive producer.

Ritter will play the character of Lily, vaguely described as "a woman with an unimaginable origin story, trying to find her place in the world." Does that mean she'll be another clone, possibly from the now-defunct Project LEDA program (or another secretive project entirely?), which would allow her the chance to flex those same impressive acting muscles that helped turn Maslany into such a star? Unfortunately, no other details are included in the report, leaving fans to speculate about what directions this new story will take and how Ritter will fit into the plot as its chief protagonist. Either way, Ritter has certainly proved her chops time and again, particularly as Jane in "Breaking Bad" and the title hero in "Jessica Jones," giving fans an incredibly worthy successor to Maslany.

Little is known about "Orphan Black: Echoes," though this casting news would heavily suggest that star Tatiana Maslany herself will likely have little to no significant role in this series continuation of the original story. That would hardly come as a surprise, of course, as the actor is currently busy making her MCU debut in "She-Hulk," which is an amusing coincidence given Ritter's similar ties to reluctant superhero/private eye Jessica Jones back during the Marvel Netflix era. Should Kevin Feige decide to bring back the gang, as he's already doing with Charlie Cox's Daredevil, how neat would it be to see both Maslany and Ritter in the franchise at the same time?

As far as "Echoes" is concerned, the only description of the plot is as follows:

Set in the near future, "Orphan Black: Echoes" takes a deep dive into the exploration of the scientific manipulation of human existence. It follows a group of women as they weave their way into each other's lives and embark on a thrilling journey, unravelling the mystery of their identity and uncovering a wrenching story of love and betrayal.

This "Orphan Black" series will run for 10 episodes in its first season and is written and executive produced by showrunner Anna Fishko. Original series co-creator and director John Fawcett will return to direct "Echoes" as well, set to debut sometime in 2023 on AMC and the AMC+ streaming service.