Season 3 of Fox’s Empire, as previously reported, will shed some light on the childhood of Cookie and Lucious — and now we know what their younger selves look like.
Ajiona Alexus (The Rickey Smiley Show) will in flashbacks play Cookie as a teenager “whose Catholic school uniform can’t hide ‘the Cookie spark.’”
Newcomer Jeremy “Not the Supernatural Producer” Carver, meanwhile, has been cast as young Lucious, who back in the day coupled a great voice with “a bad-boy edge” that made Cookie crumble a bit.
Both roles are recurring.
Other Empire Season 3 castings include Taye Diggs (as a city councilman), musician Kid Cudi (as Hakeem’s new rival) and Sierra McClain as a singer that Lucious is determined to sign, while Xzibit has been promoted to series regular as Lucious’ rival Shyne Johnson.