"Empire" season 3 is going to see one of the major characters be killed off and it may occur rather abruptly. Actress Taraji P. Henson confirmed that at least one character is going during an interview with Extra, in which she explained even the cast members were shocked when they found this out while reading the script.
"Yeah, someone dies," she confirmed. "They send us the script and then everybody's calling each other like, 'What? What? What?' You have to wait till September 21."
Fans will recall that Anika (Grace Gealy) and Rhonda (Kaitlin Doubleday) were fighting out on the balcony during the season 2 finale. While they were fighting Andre (Trai Byers) entered the scene to call Anika when something off screened happened.
The camera didn't showcase what happened and instead cut to Andre's surprised and horrified face, indicating that either one of them or perhaps even both of them had fallen off the balcony. While it might not lead to one of them dying upon impact it is possible a character would die while in the hospital.
Showrunner Ilene Chaiken also teased a major death during the Television Critics Association panel, as per a report from Variety. When asked if either of them dies Chaiken explained that the mystery would be answered in a "fabulous and heart-stopping" manner.
How this death will affect the rest of the characters as they move on in season 3 has yet to be revealed but it is possible some of them will find resolutions with the new characters played by special guest stars, including Mariah Carey.
Chaiken also explained that Henson's character, Cookie Lyon, would be leaving her husband Lucious (Terrence Howard) but also teased that Lucious wasn't just going to let that happen, leading to even more drama and arguments between the two.
"Empire" season 3 premieres Sept. 21.
