When season 3 of "Empire" ended with Lucious Lyon (Terrence Howard) in a car-bomb explosion, waking up later in a hospital having lost his memories, a lot of questions came up: Is he faking his amnesia? Will he remember that his mother killed Tariq (Morocco Omari)? How will Cookie (Taraji P. Henson) react?
While fans will have to wait for the season premiere for these burning questions to be answered, show creator Lee Daniels has chosen to address one of the more pressing questions. In an interview with TV Guide, Daniels assured viewers that Lucious is not faking his amnesia.
"Fans should not be questioning it, it's not a long con," Daniels said. "He really has lost his memory. It's hard for me to believe that, but he really has lost his memory."
Henson, meanwhile, addressed how her character Cookie will be keeping up with these developments, especially now that Lucious seems more hateful than before.
"We see the angel that he could be," Henson told TV Guide. "[Cookie] doesn't know how to accept it, because it's foreign to her. I think it's nice, but she wants that old thing back."
Meanwhile, show producers Daniels, Ilene Chaiken and Sanaa Hamri have earlier said that "Empire" season 4 will be refocusing on the Lyon family. Daniels told Variety that when they focus too much on the show's guest stars, fans of "Empire" don't get to see the reason they're watching the show: the Lyons.
"They're obsessed with the Lyons. They're obsessed with family," Daniel said.
Despite a smaller list of guest stars, Forest Whitaker will be coming in to join the "Empire" cast this season. Whitaker will be playing Uncle Eddie, who gave Lucious his first radio airplay years ago. He comes back to aid Lucious once again in a critical moment during rehabilitation.
Whitaker is the latest Hollywood big name to star in "Empire," joining Demi Moore, who has a recurring role this season. Former guest stars include Mariah Carey, Eva Longoria, Naomi Campbell, Courtney Love, Kelly Rowland and Chris Rock.
"Empire" season 4 will premiere on Wednesday, Sept. 27, at 8 p.m. EDT on FOX.
