American Horror Story’s eighth season finally has a title: Apocalypse. Official AHS social media accounts revealed the title, as well as some disturbing poster art early Friday morning, during a late-night event at San Diego Comic-Con. Complete with a chilling, bright red picture of a baby dripping in blood and playing with a monstrous black hand, the season is set to air on September 12 this year.
The highly anticipated eighth season will be a crossover between two of the show’s most popular seasons: Murder House (season 1) and Coven (season 3), according to creator Ryan Murphy.
“It’s a season unlike anything we’ve done because there’s a big hook to it. There’s a huge thing that happens in episode 5.”
Caution: SPOILERS AHEAD
For those who need a reminder, Murder House ended with Vivian (Connie Britton) giving birth to the Antichrist just before her death. The baby, named Michael Langdon, is the product of Tate Langdon (Evan Peters) raping Vivian. Sarah Paulson’s character Billie Dean Howard, a medium that occasionally interacted with the dead in Murder House, predicted that the offspring of the dead and the living would one day bring about the end of days.
Michael is raised by Constance after the Harmon’s are all killed and left to remain in Murder House forever. The final scene of the season shows the toddler smiling and laughing while dripping in blood after murdering Constance’s housekeeper.
With the cover art release and knowledge of the crossover, fans are dying to know: Is this bloody, red baby Michael? How does this baby bring a house full of ghosts and a coven of witches together? Is he really the Antichrist? And will we finally see Jessica Lange return, as either Constance or Fiona?
Fans are crossing their fingers for the return of old fan favorites, especially after Murphy revealed that many characters will be returning. “You will see so many fan favorites return that you’ll feel like it’s The Love Boat. It’s a very high concept.”
Murphy also previously stated in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that the premise for the crossover season would feature “a character from Season 1 that will be thrust into the world that you are left with at the end of Coven, which is sort of like the male/female/witch academy.”
A rumor surfaced earlier this year with fans speculating that season eight would be titled American Horror Story: Radioactive. As reported by AHS Central: “AHS: Radioactive takes place in Arizona in 2032, after a nuclear blast. The rumor also suggests that Dylan McDermott, Denis O’Hare, Adina Porter, Cheyenne Jackson, Leslie Grossman and Eddie Cibran will star, alongside already confirmed stars Evan Peters, Sarah Paulson and Kathy Bates.”
The rumor also stemmed from Twentieth Century Fox recently filing a trademark for that very title, and with Murphy never confirming nor denying the speculation, fans were left wondering what the eighth season’s theme would be – until now.
The announced cast so far for AHS: Apocalypse, which premieres Sept. 12 on FX, includes Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Kathy Bates, Billie Lourd, Billy Eichner, Leslie Grossman, Adina Porter, Cheyenne Jackson and newcomer Joan Collins.