August 2024 · 15 minute read

The Big Picture

Season 2 of Apple TV+'s hit series Silo is currently in post-production. Filming wrapped in March of this year, and though it's only been a year since the first season ended, we're looking for that peace of mind as far as the show's conclusion is concerned. Streaming is a tricky beast, and considering Apple's other sci-fi series, Constellation, was recently canceled, it's to be expected that fans want to be kept in the loop about the fate of their favorite shows. In this interview with Collider's Steve Weintraub, Silo star and executive producer Rebecca Ferguson (Dune) shares some exciting updates and maybe even a release date for us to hold onto?

Based on the bestselling books by Hugh Howey, showrunner Graham Yost (Justified) brings this post-apocalyptic world to the screen with Ferguson, Tim Robbins (Mystic River), David Oyelowo (Lawmen: Bass Reeves), Common (John Wick: Chapter 2), and more. We learn from Ferguson that the three books will be told across four seasons, and she goes on to say, "We're now looking at green-lighting Seasons 3 and 4. I think we would film them maybe together."

Check out the full interview in the transcript below to find out what Ferguson says about Juliette's journey in Season 2, when fans can expect Season 2 to premiere, and just how much influence she has behind the scenes. She also talks about her hopes for Denis Villeneuve's Dune universe with Dune Messiah and beyond, why Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation was a career turning point, and what it's really like to work with Chris Pratt on their upcoming movie Mercy.

Silo
TV-MA

Men and women live in a giant silo underground with several regulations which they believe are in place to protect them from the toxic and ruined world on the surface.

Release Date May 5, 2023 Creator Graham Yost Cast Rebecca Ferguson , Iain Glen , Tim Robbins , Shane McRae , Henry Garrett Main Genre Sci-Fi Seasons 2 Studio AMC Studios Expand

'Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation' Was a Turning Point for Rebecca Ferguson

"It was like jumping off a skyscraper."

Close

COLLIDER: The thing about being an actor is no matter who you are, you are just trying to get a break and you are trying to get noticed. You're trying to get better roles. Then there are people like you who have turned the corner and all of a sudden have landed really cool role roles at some point in their careers. When did you feel like you had turned the corner as an actor?

REBECCA FERGUSON: Mission [Impossible – Rogue Nation]. No discussions. Without a shadow of a doubt. I mean, also, it was such a corner. It wasn't even a corner, it was like jumping off a skyscraper. Doing a Mission: Impossible and being written such a huge role, like the lead with Tom Cruise, in a Mission: Impossible, how could that not just propel things forward? That is by far the turning point for me.

You have done a lot of cool roles. If someone has actually never seen anything you've done before, what is the first thing you'd like them to watch and why?

FERGUSON: That's so hard. I think it depends on the person, right? It depends on who they are, what area they're interested in, et cetera. For example, Mission for me, the first one showed a lot of fun, not an enormous range, but I think Silo for me is a lot of character choices that I've made that are very different to other things that I have done. Dune, Mission, and Silo.

I would recommend all three.

FERGUSON: Doctor Sleep was fun.

Especially the longer cut. Just throwing that out there for people that haven't seen it.

Rebecca Ferguson Belives There's More to Explore Beyond 'Dune Messiah'

I gotta do one Dune question. Denis Villeneuve is a genius, and you knew the movie was gonna be good, but what has it been like reading reviews and feeling the reaction from fans? Because I genuinely think Dune 2 is a masterpiece and I think most people think the movie is spectacular. What has it been like for you with the movie doing so well and all the positive energy for the film?

FERGUSON: You know what? I think for me, because I had watched Dune and I was doing interviews — you and I did interviews — and I remember sitting there going, “I just want people to see it.” I heard myself say, “If you think Dune is good, wait until you see Dune 2,” and I remember thinking, “I really mean it.” I mean, the challenges, the angles, the storyline, the music, the scope, the Harkonnens, the graphics, it's all there. It's a masterpiece. And the fact that I know people have seen it and the response is what it is, it's a bit of me going, “Told ya.”

You kept saying it. I'm just overjoyed that Denis can make Dune Messiah when he wants to because the film has been so successful. As a fan, I want to see more, and I'm glad that he wants to do it.

FERGUSON: Me too. It's a universe. It's kind of what Star Wars was when it happened. I don't want to jinx it, but there's a lot that can be done here. This is a world. It's a sexy world, and it's dangerous, and it has different cultures and life and visions, and Patrice [Vermette], who is the designer, and the costumes. I mean, it's a spectacle in every aspect. It’s just phenomenal.

3:48 Related
Rebecca Ferguson Tried and Failed to Get This Bene Gesserit Detail Into 'Dune: Part Two'

She also compares Lady Jessica's transformation to an exorcist movie and drops some clues on 'Silo' Season 2.

You know how much I love Silo. When did you realize that Silo might actually be something really special? Because you're never really sure until a certain point.

FERGUSON: I wasn't sure until reviews came out and numbers were going up. Literally. I needed the recognition of the people to understand, and maybe because I'm the lead and I'm carrying it, and it's hard to know in that sense, but I think I was very worried in many ways that it wouldn't deliver. I was questioning it, not in my heart because it's a love project and I love the people, as you know, but as a show. Would it hold? Would people watch it? When the digits came in and I got a phone call from Apple saying, “Well, this is looking good,” I went, “Oh, okay, good!”

I'm a huge fan of Apple TV. I think the sci-fi they make is easily the best of any streamers by a mile. I'm always looking at what's in the top 10, especially the top five because if it's something I love I want it to be there because I know they'll make more.

FERGUSON: That’s most of the things, not just the sci-fi. For me, like, The Morning Show, Season 1 of Ted Lasso, it's such a varied range. I loved Shrinking. I loved it. Apple is good at finding niches that stand out. It's great.

I’ve said this before, if I had to give up streaming channels I would not give up Apple TV.

FERGUSON: Apple right now listening in, they’re like, “Yeah!”

Here's the thing, you know this about me, I wouldn't say this if I didn't actually believe it. It's quality stuff.

Rebecca Ferguson Is a Driving Force Behind 'Silo'

I know that you're an executive producer on Silo, and I'm curious, what's an example of something that you did as a producer or something that you've learned in making the first season that you applied to the second season?

FERGUSON: I don't like analyzing myself in that sense. I have a very strong voice onset, as in I'm very much a part of the process. To understand, people turn to me for questions, as well, which is a nice feeling of giving people security of angles and ideas. When people have ideas, even people who are not part of the DP, acting or directing but they might have an idea, they come to me. I feel a part of the entire spectrum of the show and I take the place as well, but I don't see myself as a producer, which is maybe weird. I see myself as very much a part of driving the show forward, and I love everyone so much and I care for every single human being. I know them, I know their family, I know the kids, I know their situation. It's pure, utter love. So, I don't know where the producer steps in or where the actor steps in. I don't know. I just have a very strong voice and a position that is anchored.

Being a producer and obviously the lead in everything on the show, how much do you like looking at early cuts?

FERGUSON: I get access to them. Right now, I'm watching the cuts. I'm watching the studio cuts, which mean visual effects, sound, nothing is done, and I find it daunting. I find myself calling the supervisor who's doing it sometimes, and I'm like, “Oh, the glory around my head, it looks…” And he’s like, “Yeah, but we haven't graded it yet.” I’m like, “Okay!” But when you asked about the producing lot, I watch Graham, and I watch Joanna Thapa and Nina [Jack], who are the producers on set who are phenomenal, and the directors. I really study people. I look at them, I ask them questions, I’m curious. But it trickles from Graham and all of it. The whole process.

The only reason this show works is because of Graham's leadership and his brilliant writing. I love the whole arc of the first season and how it ties together. Can you give an example of Graham on set problem-solving and why he is such a special showrunner?

FERGUSON: Do you know what? It's not a problem-solving. I think when Graham comes, there's a buzz. There’s a buzz from everyone because we know that the creator– It's like daddy walked on set to help us again. Usually when he comes, he's there, and I grab him, and I ask him to pitch the next season for me. So I basically don't give him two seconds to respond to other people's issues because I ask him for all the attention myself. We've become a little group gathered around the chairs, and he pitches us new ideas. It's a community. What he shows, his enormous leadership is that he backs away and he doesn't step in and take over. He is very much the man who just leans back. He lets people solve it. He comes up with a joke or a reassuring thing or does little tweaks, but you don't know he does it. He lets the people who is given the job do that job.

'Silo' Will Run for Four Seasons

"We're now looking at green-lighting Seasons 3 and 4."

Close

In an ideal world, how many seasons would you like for the show?

FERGUSON: I believe the show has an ending, and I know when that is. So, that's the answer. You'll find out when the show's done. Actually, to be honest, I don't think it's a secret. I mean, the books are the books, and the three books are divided into four seasons. So I believe — unless any Apple person is gonna jump on — I think we're absolutely fine to say Season 1 we've done, Season 2 is shot and coming out, and we're now looking at green-lighting Seasons 3 and 4. I think we would film them maybe together, and that will be the end.

That's what I wanted to ask you about. They did that with See. They filmed Seasons 2 and 3 together. The biggest problem for me, and I think for a lot of fans, is streaming shows often take long breaks between seasons because it takes a long time to film. Because this show's ending is in sight, I wanted to ask you if Seasons 3 and 4 could film together, which seems like you guys might.

FERGUSON: I think that is the plan, and I believe that because the request of it is so demanding, which is amazing. The point would be to give the people what they want to get so we don't have too much of a gap. But everything changes. It's about timing, it's about what works, what else is coming out. It's a mathematical equation of how things are being dropped and when it's being dropped.

The other thing is, obviously it's very daunting to write 20 episodes of a show, but if you were filming Seasons 3 and 4 at the same time, you could block shoot and maybe save a lot of time by doing everything on that one set and then that's it.

FERGUSON: Exactly. You've got it, Steven. But what we also have to understand is you then have 20 episodes and you might have five different directors. As actors, we're jumping, nothing is consecutive, so it's very strenuous for us, it's very strenuous for the directors. But that's how we did Season 2, as well. One day I would film with three different directors, three different episodes. So, I have color-coordinated and directorially coordinated my scripts. I only have my stuff, no one else’s, and I have it in sequence, in order so I know, when I look at the day color-wise, who I'm working with, when I'm working, where I am. It's very unsexy — I find it very sexy. I love everything that has to do with highlighters. I’m a bit OCD.

Related
‘Silo’ Season 1: Our Biggest Unanswered Questions After the Finale

We need some answers after that Season 1 finale cliffhanger.

How did the underwater stuff in Season 2 compare to your work on Rogue Nation?

FERGUSON: The same people that I worked with, the water people who I love at Pinewood, the best people — Joe, Pete, “Perfect Pete” — I love them. All of them. I'm very comfortable in water. I'm a diver. I love water. I love challenging myself. With Rogue Nation, there was a specific scene that wasn't that crazy — we were underwater, I’m saving him, and get out. In this, we have excessive, extravagant moments that I'm very excited for you to see.

Do you think there's a chance for Season 2 to be out this year, or do you think it's more realistic early next year?

FERGUSON: This year.

Have they told you?

FERGUSON: No, that's what I think.

I really hope that's true. The thing I'm thinking about is you guys just wrapped in March, and I know how long post-production takes and VFX so that's why I was like, “Can they make November? Is it possible?”

FERGUSON: We don't have a release date. We have something we're working towards. I have all 10 episodes of studio cuts, but then it's grading VFX, and there's so much that needs to be done. I think we're hoping for a date, and I think we're pushing for it. I think Apple is incredible at their response to needed editorial changes. I think the collaboration is so good between the directors in the studio that I don't see why it wouldn't work. But that is out of my hands.

'Silo' Season 1 Was Only the "Introduction to the Chaos"

What can you tease about Juliette’s journey in Season 2 without spoilers?

FERGUSON: If I could tell you. I shouldn't say this, but it gets wet. I don't even know if I should say that, but I just did. It's so intense. It is so intense. It's a multitude of things that happen, and it's like Season 1 was the introduction to the chaos that is gonna happen.

I know that you are gonna be filming Mercy with Chris Pratt, and I know it films in LA. I’m super excited. What about this project versus the other scripts you probably were reading said, “This is the one I wanna make?”

FERGUSON: It was eight days of shooting, so it gave me time off. The character was intriguing, but the director and the producer, so Timur [Bekmambetov] and the producer, Chuck Rovan, who did Oppenheimer, it was the conversations with them about where they wanted to take the character of Maddox, the AI judge that I’m playing. I was intrigued with what I could do with the eight days of this character, and it's not asking for a lot when it comes to change. I have basically one look and so many small details in the acting. I know it's AI and it sort of, once again, puts me in sort of a futuristic box. For me, I pick the roles due to the character and what I haven’t done before. And by the way, Chris Pratt is the loveliest, kindest, and very smart human being.

Related
Chris Pratt Explains Why He Wanted To Join Rebecca Ferguson in New Sci-Fi Thriller 'Mercy'

Directed by Timur Bekmambetov, 'Mercy' will be released by Amazon MGM Studios.

Yeah, he's very nice.

FERGUSON: I'm not saying that I'm shocked. It's just, like, I'm so happy to be working with such lovely people. I feel very lucky.

Yeah, I just spoke to him for Garfield and had him talk about it.

FERGUSON: He's such a goofball with a very high intelligence.

Yeah, also, he is very popular with the shows he does and the movies he makes. People really like watching them.

FERGUSON: He's likable and he's fun. He has the quality, the Sam Rockwell quality. It's goofy, it's quick, it's fast. He responds very wittily, even off camera. We haven't started filming, but when we were rehearsing, he left the room, and I threw him a one-liner and he just threw one back within a second, and I thought, “His mind is very active.”

Silo Season 1 is available to stream exclusively on Apple TV+.

Watch on Apple TV

ncG1vNJzZmibn6G5qrDEq2Wcp51kwKq4zmaqnpmjpLtufoyrnJudk5iubrLEq56uq5%2BjfA%3D%3D