More than a year after he announced his exit from Showtime’s financial drama, Damian Lewis’ return to Billions has been confirmed.
The Emmy winner will reprise his role as Bobby “Axe” Axelrod in the upcoming seventh season, Showtime has revealed. He’ll appear in six of the season’s 12 episodes; Season 7 is slated to air later this year. Additionally, Toney Goins, who plays Philip on the series, has been promoted to series regular.
In Season 7, “alliances are turned on their heads. Old wounds are weaponized. Loyalties are tested. Betrayal takes on epic proportions. Enemies become wary friends. And Bobby Axelrod returns, as the stakes grow from Wall Street to the world,” per the official network synopsis.
Lewis was spotted on set last November shooting scenes outside the Tower of London alongside fellow cast members Maggie Siff and David Costabile. The photos were fans’ first tip that the Billions vet might actually be returning.
In the Season 5 finale, Bobby went on the lam in Switzerland to escape the legal reach of Paul Giamatti’s State Attorney General Chuck Rhoades. Said Axelrod to rival billionaire Mike Prince (played by Corey Stoll), who now owns all of his companies: “So this is what it is to lose.”
At the time of his exit, Lewis said his five-season run as Axe was “easily the most time I’ve spent playing one character,” and as such, every permutation of Axe-versus-Chuck had been explored. “It’s difficult to keep mining, creatively,” the Homeland alum said. “We know who he is.”
The English actor continued: “There’s an opportunity maybe for me to return. But for now, broadly speaking, Axe has been vanquished.”
Thoughts on Axe returning to the fold? Let us know in the comments.
