Paul Rudd made a surprise cameo during the finale of the famous Hulu series Only Murders in The Building Season 2 that certainly blew everybody’s minds. The actor made a quick appearance during the last episode, which sets up the events for the third season. However, is there any chance that Paul Rudd will join the star cast of season 3? Well, Variety has revealed that Rudd has boarded the cast of Season 3.
Rudd portrays the character of Ben Glenroy, the lead actor in Oliver Putnam’s (Martin Short) Broadway play. The one who falls dead on stage just as the curtain flew up signaling the show to begin. Just seconds prior to that, Ben had a peculiar interaction with Charles-Haden Savage (Steve Martin) that was intentionally vague, according to series co-creator John Hoffman.
The series Only Murder in the Building follows an unlikely trio of Charles Haden Savage (Steve Martin), Oliver Putnam (Martin Short), and Mable Mora (Selena Gomez) who share an obsession with true crime and podcasting. Season 2 ended on a high note – after the shocking death of Arconia Board President Bunny Folger, the trio successfully unmasked her killer.
Further, during the last scene of Season 2, we see Oliver making a return to Broadway with a production featuring high-profile star Ben Glenroy, portrayed by Rudd. We see some friction between Glenroy and his co-star Charles before stepping on stage.
However, once on stage, Glenroy begins bleeding from the mouth – showing the signs of poisoning – before dropping dead in front of the audience. Now all suspicious eyes are on Charles, who was last seen in a tense moment with him. This certainly sets up the new mystery for the upcoming season.
Hoffman shared insight as to how the casting came about. “We’re all fans of his. But also, Paul has a pretty close relationship with Martin Short and he also made a film with Selena [Gomez], and she adores him. But the kicker is that Paul has revered Steve Martin since he was a kid, so all of these things came together for this very big ask,” Hoffman shared.
“We were saying, is there any world where a major movie star could come and do this five minutes for our season finale? But more importantly, when we come around to shooting Season 3, many, many months from now, would he be available because he’s now a certain kind of victim within our show? We need to have time with him; would he come back and play with us in Season 3? God love Paul Rudd because he immediately said yes.”
The series stars Selena Gomez, Steve Martin, and Martin Short as three neighbors living in an affluent apartment building on New York City’s Upper West Side. Martin is also the show’s co-creator with Hoffman, and the series cast also includes Cara Delevingne, Tina Fey, and Da’Vine Joy Randolph.
Dubbing Rudd’s entrance into the franchise “auspicious” at the end of season 2, series co-creator John Hoffmann revealed that Glenroy “is someone we clearly want to know more about and see in our upcoming Season 3.” While it is not clear whether Rudd will be joining in a regular, recurring, or guest capacity Hoffmann says his character is “a clear source of many upcoming questions and, as ever with our show, many twists yet to come!”