There are television shows that linger long after the screen fades to black. Taboo is one of them. In its first season, it carved out a vision of London that was equal parts historical drama and gothic nightmare. With Taboo Season 2, scheduled for 2025, Tom Hardy once again steps into the role of James Keziah Delaney — a man who seems less a character than a dark myth walking among mortals.

The Return of James Delaney

Hardy’s performance has always been the axis around which Taboo turns. He embodies Delaney with a feral stillness, as though every line of dialogue were wrestled from some ancient grief. The announcement of his return feels less like news than destiny. Delaney was never finished. He remains a riddle with smoke on his breath, one part avenger, one part ghost.

What Season 2 Promises

Co-created by Hardy, Steven Knight, and Chips Hardy, the second season ventures westward, toward America, while still dragging with it the sins of London. Six of the eight episodes are already written, suggesting a narrative built with precision rather than improvisation. The East India Company may still loom, but the true enemy seems to be the corrosive hunger for power — whether imperial, familial, or personal.

Key Elements to Expect

• Explosive Action: Knight has hinted that Season 2 will elevate the scale of violence and intrigue, never for spectacle alone but as punctuation to a brutal story.
• Deeper Mysteries: Where the first season flirted with the supernatural, the second seems poised to embrace it more fully, treating myth as part of the marrow of Delaney’s world.
• Stellar Cast: Alongside Hardy, names like Jessie Buckley and Stephen Graham are whispered, actors who could easily hold their own in this bleak symphony.

The Shadow of Season 1

The first season ended not with closure but with departure. Delaney set sail, carrying with him secrets and scars, leaving behind a London that could never contain him. Season 2 does not have the luxury of surprise; it must carry the weight of expectation. The challenge will be to deepen the mythology without drowning in it, to allow Delaney to evolve without taming him.

Final Thoughts

What makes Taboo endure is not simply its plot or its period detail but its conviction. It believes in its darkness, in the mud and blood of history, in the way a man like James Delaney can exist both as a son and a specter. If the new season delivers on even half its promise, it will be less a continuation than a reckoning. Hardy is not merely returning to the role — he is returning to the abyss he created, and we are all too eager to follow him in.