The latest instalment of Netflix’s Money Heist (La casa de papel) ramps up the action and adds in more bloodshed than all three previous seasons combined.
Fans might have expected the season four finale to follow the same format as season two, neatly wrapping up the heist after just two seasons. But nothing seems to have gone to plan this time around, and the gang have been forced to buy themselves a bit more time.
That means season four ends on a cliffhanger, leaving the door wide open for a potential Money Heist season five.
Money Heist season 5 release date: When will Money Heist return to Netflix?
At the moment, Money Heist season five hasn’t technically been greenlit, but as one of the most popular Netflix series in the world – it was ranked #2 in the UK on April 6 – it’s unlikely that the streamer would pull the plug just yet.
Speaking to ABC Spain, creator Álex Pina insinuated that discussions are happening, although no details have been officially released: “Someone knows there will be [a fifth season], but we don’t.”
Fans waited just under nine months between seasons three and four of Money Heist. If season five were to follow the same pattern, we might have been back at the bank by the end of 2020.
But on March 15, Netflix paused production on all its original series for two weeks due to the ongoing world situation, and has yet to announce whether there is a plan to lift the pause. With this interrupting filming across the entertainment industry, it seems highly unlikely we’ll get another Money Heist premiere in 2020.
Spanish site Marca is reporting that a fifth and sixth season have been confirmed, but take that with a pinch of salt until we hear the word from the quesos grandes at Netflix.
The showrunners themselves don’t like to think that far ahead anyway – as script coordinator Javier Gómez Santander said to El Mundo: “With La Casa De Papel, we go game by game, like Simeone.
“Chapter by chapter, sequence by sequence, line by line.
“We do not ever consider how long the show can last. If we got to know the scope of the phenomenon, we wouldn’t have thought to kill Berlin.”
Money Heist season 5 cast: Who will be in it?
Nairobi’s (Alba Flores) death carved a tragic gap in the group, but Money Heist has always played with flashbacks and non-linear time. Just like we got to catch up with Berlin, Moscow and Oslo via memories, we might get to revisit Nairobi in season five by travelling to a time before her execution.
If that does happen, though, it might be with footage that has already been filmed from previous seasons. In a clip from Money Heist: The Phenomenon, also on Netflix, Flores hinted that her filming days are done for this project: “It’s over, and I have nothing on the horizon. It’s a really liberating feeling. Because…well, I need a rest.”
Other actors who are most likely to return in season five include:
- Úrsula Corberó as Tokio
- Álvaro Morte as El Profesor
- Itziar Ituño as Lisbon
- Miguel Herrán as Río
- Jaime Lorente as Denver
- Esther Acebo as Stockholmo
- Darko Peric as Helsinki
- Enrique Arce as Arturo Román
Money Heist season 5 plot: What will the fifth season be about?
Like every season of Money Heist, season five will catch up with the professor and the gang doing what they do best: armed robbery of the highest degree, with a smattering of political resistance thrown in.
There are a number of loose threads left dangling at the end of season four that future episodes could explore. Lisbon is now inside the bank, but with the professor cornered by Inspectora Alicia Sierra, Lisbon and the others have no way to escape. They’ll have to continue melting gold at top speed, and hope that Sergio can find a way to outsmart Sierra once and for all.
But it’s not just about the ongoing plot. Like the Fast & Furious or Power franchises, there’s scope for whole worlds outside the main show itself and the creators have seemingly embraced those possibilities whole-heartedly. Showrunner Alex Piña told Oprah Magazine: “We do have many possibilities for some spinoffs, yes, and I think that’s thanks to the strong and powerful identities of the characters.
We’ve always looked for characters to have a very complex, layered design. So I think almost every character of Money Heist has a duality that we would like to see in a spinoff. We could watch any of them in other contexts.
“I think Arturito could have a black comedy. Berlin’s case for his own show is very clear – he’s a misogynist, a psychopath, egocentric, a narcissist, a delinquent, a rapist… but still there are lots of people who adore him, because he values friendship, loyalty or fraternity.
“From Nairobi to El Profesor… Denver is yet another character with his own charm. I would love to write all of them as spinoffs!”
We, too, would love for you to write them all as spin-offs, Alex, so if you could have a quiet word with Netflix and get the ball rolling that would be grand.
Money Heist season 5 trailer: When can we see a Netflix promo for season 5?
With filming possibly postponed, it will likely be a while before there’s any footage for a Money Heist season five trailer. However, it’s possible there might be a marketing teaser promo ahead of a real sneak peek, just to keep us on the edge of our seats.
Money Heist seasons 1 – 4 are now available to watch worldwide on Netflix.