An Empire spinoff starring Taraji P. Henson is in development at Fox

(Image credit: Taraji P. Henson)

Cookie Lyon will return.

A spinoff of Empire about Taraji P. Henson's character is in development at Fox, The Hollywood Reporter and Variety reported on Thursday. Henson will reportedly be back to star as Cookie, and she'll also produce the show, while Empire co-creator Danny Strong will serve as one of the showrunners if the project moves forward.

In terms of the plot of the series, the Reporter says it will "follow Cookie as she moves to L.A., and potentially feature some of her other family members," though further details weren't available. But as the Reporter notes, Empire never did get a proper series finale, as coronavirus shutdowns forced the last season to end prematurely before the ending was filmed. This could potentially, then, be an odd example where the plot of a series is actually wrapped up as originally intended in a totally different show.

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As of yet, the Cookie spinoff does not have an official title, but might we suggest Empire Strikes Back?

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Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.