Ryan Murphy Confirms ‘American Horror Story’ Season 13 Is Basically the Franchise’s Own Avengers Movie
‘American Horror Story’ has always thrived on reinvention, with each season traditionally serving as its own contained nightmare loosely tied to the ones before it. That anthology format has made the show a launching pad for some of its stars’ most iconic roles, and fans have spent years speculating about which past chapters might eventually collide.
Season 3, better known as ‘Coven,’ remains one of the franchise’s most beloved installments, and rumors had circulated for months that Season 13 would serve as a direct continuation of that witchy storyline. Miss Robichaux’s Academy reopening its doors only fueled that theory further.
According to a post from the account Film Updates, series creator Ryan Murphy has now clarified that Season 13 is not a standalone ‘Coven’ sequel at all, but something far bigger. Murphy told Entertainment Tonight at the NYC premiere of his series The Shards that everybody thinks it’s a Coven season, and it’s not, adding that it’s all the seasons instead.
That framing has since been echoed across multiple entertainment outlets, with Murphy comparing the scale of the crossover to a certain Marvel franchise. He described the upcoming season as a crossover event like The Avengers, where characters from previous seasons all come together to defeat the ultimate evil.
The returning cast lineup backs up that ambition. Sarah Paulson is set to play six or seven different roles beyond her Coven character, Cordelia Goode, while Evan Peters has been confirmed for five separate characters. Jessica Lange’s involvement is arguably the biggest surprise of all, marking her first series regular appearance since 2015’s ‘Freak Show.’
Lange will reportedly reprise all four of her previous characters, including Constance Langdon from ‘Murder House,’ Sister Jude Martin from ‘Asylum,’ Fiona Goode from ‘Coven,’ and Elsa Mars from ‘Freak Show.’ Her return is especially notable given that she had previously shut down the idea entirely, telling attendees at the Glasgow Film Festival that she hadn’t done the show in over a decade and had no plans to change that.
Murphy has since revealed what changed her mind. He explained that once he pitched the crossover concept to actors who had said no for years, they came around, with Lange reportedly reacting to the pitch by saying she now had to do it.
How excited are you for AHS 13?
Beyond the returning stars, the season carries some symbolic numbers of its own. Murphy confirmed the official title is simply ’13,’ with the season also running 13 episodes to match. He noted he spent years writing the scripts alongside Brad Falchuk, Ned Martel and Charlie Carver, wanting to handle the milestone season in a special way.
‘American Horror Story’ Season 13 is set to premiere on FX and Hulu on September 24, 2026. With nearly every era of the franchise apparently converging into one story, this could end up being the most ambitious swing the anthology has ever taken.
Given how many eras of ‘American Horror Story’ are colliding at once, which returning character are you most excited to see back on screen?
