Into The Badlands Season 4: Is it Renewed?
Into the Badlands is a wuxia story filled with crazy martial arts stunts, a captivating plot, great acting, and, of course, badass stunts.
On the AMC network, Into the Badlands premiered on the 15th of November 2015 and the first season ran six episodes until the 20th of December.
The show received mixed reviews, with a 54% average rating. They returned in 2017 with the second season. This season was far more popular, with a perfect Rotten Tomatoes rating, encouraging the network to extend the show for a third season.
Stephen Fung’s brilliant choreography kept us captivated on the screens for three seasons straight till May 2019.
Since then, the audience has eagerly anticipated the fourth season. We were waiting for any news or updates on the return of our favourite show.
So, ENTOIN is here with all the news and updates that you want to hear.
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Into The Badlands Recap
In 2015, Alfred Gough and Miles Millar created a new adventure drama with a twist.
This adventure drama was set in a post-apocalyptic world where martial arts reign supreme. It’s not just simple fights, but full-on wuxia-style artistry.
If I have tickled your curiosity too many times, I apologize. I will start the story right away.
Roughly 500 years into the future, the world has experienced apocalypse-level events and most of the systems and governments have collapsed.
Most of humanity has also been wiped out. With bare minimum essentials like electricity and gas still working, the remaining humans have reassembled to form a crude medieval social structure.
There are no governments and government bodies, no armies or military. Society has formed a feudal structure with barons as the head of each hierarchy.
The baron maintains a group of martial arts fighters as his militia to maintain law and order.
There are no guns or advanced weaponry. Each of these barons produces essential commodities like fuel, opium, ores, etc.
They use these to barter with other barons and manage trade and relations. There is a new religious order they call themselves Totemists.
In this feudal society, Quinn is the strongest baron, and Sunny is his strongest martial arts fighter.
Minerva or the Widow is a newly instated baron, and she is trying to establish her supremacy.
Pilgrim is the head priest of Totemists. All these people have to navigate through society and the new structure to find their nirvana.
In the first season, the strongest baron Quinn and his best fighter, Sunny, have a falling out.
Sunny is in love with the doctor, Veil, and he plans to start a family with her.
But Quinn won’t allow it. Sunny also finds a gifted fighter called MK, who has a very dark gift.
While Sunny tries to train MK to control his gift, a newly instated baron, Widow, is trying to topple other barons.
Everyone tries to get the upper hand. At the end of the first season, Sunny is sold to slave traders, Veil is stuck in the Badlands with a child on the way.
Quinn has been impaled during the war. MK is kidnapped by the Abbots of Totemism.
The widow has lost most of her fighters and is struggling for power. In the second season, the power struggle continues with new alliances being formed.
Quinn is still alive and in hiding. Quinn’s son, Ryder has taken over the territory of Quinn, the widow, and another baron.
Sunny is planning his escape from his slave trader, and MK is being trained by the Totemists.
By the end of the second season, we see another all-out war. Sunny is back in Badlands, and he attacks his hideout of Quinn to rescue Veil and his son.
MK is captured by the Widow, and she exploits his gift. Ryder has been killed, and his baron post is taken over by Jade, his wife.
Bajie, who escaped the slave trader along with Sunny, has sent an SOS asking for help from the outside world.
The third season is back with Badlands in civil war. There is no clear leader, and trouble is approaching in the form of Pilgrim.
He is the last son of Azra, a mythical Holyland. He considers himself the messiah and plans to start a new kingdom in Badlands.
Ending of Into The Badlands Season 3
The third season is the series’ final season to date. We’ve seen that the Badlands is in disarray, with the majority of the barons dead.
All workers and residents are tired of the feudal system’s tyranny. Those with fighting abilities and gifts are either held hostage or refuse to fight.
MK, the brilliant kid, is still imprisoned by the Widow. She wishes to completely utilize his gift in order to grow her power.
The Widow offers a free and democratic society to all of Badlands’ workers and slaves.
She wants to topple all the powerhouses in the territory. Sunny and Veil were reunited at the end of season two, but she kills herself and Quinn to save the rest.
Now, Sunny is left alone to care for his child, Henry. Henry has started displaying his gift and that scares Sunny.
He wants a cure for it. Quinn’s first wife, Lydia has joined forces with the Totemists and she is living with them.
Tilda, the Widow’s adoptive daughter, also joins them. She and the other Totemists steal and rob resources from nobles.
In the meantime, Pilgrim arrives in Badlands. He is the fanatical leader of Totemists, who plans to start a new kingdom like Azra.
Since he is the last son of Azra, many people follow him. He uses his gift to control and manipulate other gifted fighters and becomes stronger.
The end of the third season is another war between the people of Badlands and the forces of Pilgrim.
While Pilgrim acts crazier by the day and kills anyone who rejects their gifts, his lieutenant, Cressida steals all the sacred scrolls and escapes with them.
The group of fighters with Sunny and the fighters with Widow, both descend on Pilgrim’s fortress.
In the fight, the Widow and her team kill MK, and her anger, reactivate her gift.
Sunny and his team fight Pilgrim and his forces. Most of the enemy forces are killed and only Pilgrim is left fighting with Sunny, and his team.
Although Sunny is mortally wounded, he manages to kill Pilgrim. After Pilgrim dies, even Sunny breathes his last.
The meridian chamber in the fortress is destroyed. Widow and Gaius rescue a wounded Tilda from the fortress.
The expected plot of Into The Badlands Season 4
Going by the plot trajectory, in the first season, we established all the main characters and Quinn was the meanest villain.
By the second season, we see Quinn become a scarier villain due to his desperation, meanwhile, Widow becomes a strong player.
In the third season, Quinn is vanquished, but an even more terrifying Pilgrim is brought in.
He ran radical plans for the Badlands and wanted to achieve them at all costs.
In the finale episode, we are given clues to a future season that could very well turn out to be the best season till now.
At the end of season 3, Pilgrim is killed, and we also lose MK, But the scrolls and the texts from the fortress are with Cressida.
She escapes on the boat before Moon can kill her. While fighting MK, Widow has activated her gift.
Likewise, Sunny appears to die after he kills Pilgrim, but his gift is also activated.
Sunny’s ability is revealed by the source, who also issues a severe warning. Sunny warns that the arrival of new power might make the future of Badlands even more frightening.
Simultaneously, while rummaging in the debris of the Meridian Chamber, a metal firearm is found.
When the firearm is tested, it seems to fire a shot. This is the new dangerous power that has entered Badlands.
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Why watch the next season?
In the fourth season, we can expect the plot to revolve around the newly found firearms.
The widow is back in power with her long-awaited gift. Sunny has his gift and he will be back to ensure that order reigns supreme.
It will be interesting to watch the fourth season to see how all these characters work with the changing power dynamics.
Who will harness the power of firearms and whether will it be for the good or the detriment remains to be seen.
We also have Cressida, who has escaped with the scrolls and sacred texts. How she plans to use them is an interesting plotline.
With so many captivating story arcs, I am waiting, excited, for the fourth season to start.
Official Announcements and Release Date of Season 4
As excited as we are about the new season of Into The Badlands, the show creators have been quiet on social media about it.
Since the end of the third season in 2019, there has been no official news or update.
However, in February 2019, AMC cancelled the show. They did not renew the contract for the fourth season.
The creator Al Gough took to Twitter to announce on February 10th that season 4 has not been renewed and hence, they will make an explosive ending for season 3.
All of the main cast, like Daniel Wu, expressed gratitude to the audience for a wonderful run of Into the Badlands and said they were sad to part ways with it.
As of January 2023, we can only confirm that AMC has cancelled the series. We can continue to watch the previous three seasons on Amazon Prime Video.
The series’s admirers do not want it to stop and see the possibility of another season, but there is still no word on whether the show will be renewed or not.
Many people believe that the creators are working on a fantastic finish.
The Inspiration for Into The Badlands
The show’s creator, Al Gough mentioned in a tweet that he set out to create a groundbreaking martial arts series that will wow the audience.
It is loosely based the story on the Chinese classic story, Journey to The West. Using the premise of this tale, Al Gough and Miles Millar created an adventure-action wuxia series.
The Hong-based action director, Ku Huen-Chiu, and Stephen Fung joined the team to lend their expertise to martial arts.
With this vision and inspiring team, Into the Badlands was conceptualized. It went on to become a hit series that captivated its viewers for three seasons.
Popularity details of Into The Badlands Season 4
Into the Badlands is an action wuxia series that has all the elements of a blockbuster entertainer.
With a taut script, great acting, fabulous fight sequences, and more, the series has been an audience favourite.
Social media discussions and memes are a good indicator of their love of the show.
Twitter account
The show has an official Twitter handle, @IntotheBadlands. There is a strong following of 53.8 thousand followers.
You can get all the latest news on the cast and freely share your thoughts on the show on this page.
Many comments on the page express hope for a fourth season. If not that, they at least want a 2-hour movie on this series.
Some even feel the ending was more of a teaser to a mind-blowing new season.
Reddit community
Reddit is another platform where you can find fellow fans and kindred spirits for Into the Badlands.
You can find many fun Reddit threads discussing their favourite character of Into the Badlands.
But they are more concerned about why the show was cancelled. The creators didn’t give a proper explanation for their decision.
Now everyone is wishing for other networks to renew it and perhaps it might be the only way.
Google Search
Google search results will give us a clear indication of how popular the show is around the world.
It gained popularity across the globe after it became available on Amazon Prime Video and other online streaming platforms.
Many fans come from the USA, India, and African countries like South Africa, Kenya, and more.
It has a loyal following in non-English-speaking countries too and that’s a good thing.
Global organic searches stood at 27K which is falling each month due to a lack of any official activity.
Google Trends
Google trends show relative trends of Google searches for a particular term. For season 4 of Badlands, it’s staying below 5% of peak.
So, it’s better to assume that not a lot of people are searching for the fourth season and it may look disappointing.
Online Reaction to Into The Badlands Season 4
Another good indicator of the popularity of a series is the kind of online reactions that people have to a show.
The more they talk about it is a sure sign that they cherish the show.
And if one were to read about this topic on any social media platform, the first comment we hear is, When is the next season coming?
Quora reaction
On Quora, we have many fans asking for reviews of the show, if it is as good as everyone says it is.
The interesting discussion on Quora is about how each superhero would fare in the Badlands.
I found it entertaining to read. One Quoran asked how Batman, Green Arrow, Ra’s al Ghul, and Lady Shiva would fare if they were sent to the badlands.
Reddit Reaction
Many Reddit threads discuss their favourite character in the series. There are also threads asking what would have happened if there was a season 4.
People still converse about the breathtaking fight sequences. The show was more interesting because of the sword fights, the Katanas used, daggers, and more.
It was refreshing not to hear gunshots and machine guns in any of the showdowns.
Twitter reaction
Twitter users also missed the sword fights the most. They also appreciated the absolute martial arts displays of the show.
Considering the uniqueness of the fight sequences, introducing guns into the fourth season would have made a novel experience.
The series would have become fascinating.
Ratings and Reviews of Into the Badlands
The show had good reviews and ratings during the early days. The critics praised it for its stylish setting, taut storyline, and great acting.
Despite the great reviews, the show was cancelled by AMC. The reason lies in viewership numbers and loss of interest among certain sections of viewers.
Here is a breakdown of the ratings and reviews of the show.
Ratings
|
Website |
Rating |
|
IMDb |
8 |
|
MetaCritic |
54/100 |
|
Rotten Tomatoes |
88% |
|
Common Sense Media |
3/5 |
The critical approval ratings of the series have consistently been above 8 on IMDB, with a few episodes being rated 8.8 in the second season.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season was rated 54% by the critics, while the second season received a rating of 100% fresh.
The third season was given a rating of 88%.
Reviews
The first season of Into the Badlands received mixed reviews. According to Rotten Tomatoes, the show had the potential to be a hit series with fantastic characters, but it was not completely utilized.
They, however, praised the amazingly choreographed martial arts stunts and fights. The second season recovered in the ratings and Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 100% rating.
The third season also maintained momentum and got an 88% rating. The Hollywood Reporter reviewed the show and said that Into the Badlands was a fun, entertaining, and non-zombie alternative to The Walking Dead.
It made Sundays an escapist Red Zone with this AMC show. Variety magazine gave a review saying that Into the Badlands is a homage to the Samurai films that the Hong Kong maestros have churned out for the TV audience.
The action scenes are stirringly presented throughout the show, and they pass with flying colours.
Top 5 Best-Rated Episodes
| Episodes Number and Name | Ratings (IMDb) |
|---|---|
| Chapter XXIX: Black Lotus, White Rose (Episode 13, Season 3) | 8.7/10 |
| Chapter VI: Hand of Five Poisons (Episode 6, Season 1) | 8.6/10 |
| Chapter X: Palm of the Iron Fox (Episode 4, Season 2) | 8.5/10 |
| Chapter XV: Nightangle Sings No More (Episode 9, Season 2) | 8.5/10 |
| ChapterXXIV: Leopard Catches Cloud (Episode 8, Season 3) | 8.5/10 |
Awards and Recognitions of the series
The series was nominated for many awards. You can get a list of nominations and wins of the series right here:
- Irish Film and Television Awards in 2018 – Winner for Best Makeup & Hair award for Clare Lambe, Sevlene Roddy.
- Irish Film and Television Awards in 2018 – Nominated for Best Production Design, Best Sound
- Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films for 2018 – Nominated for Best Action/Thriller Television Series
- Directors Guild of Canada for 2019 – Nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Dramatic Series
- IGN Summer Movie Awards for 2018 – Nominated for Best TV Action Series
- IGN Summer Movie Awards for 2017 – Nominated for Best TV Action Series
- IGN Summer Movie Awards for 2015 – Nominated for Best TV Action Series
- Satellite Awards for 2016 – Nominated for Best Television Series, Genre
Production of Into the Badlands
Al Gough and Miles Millar set out to make a “genre-bending martial arts series” for television.
They decided to loosely base the story on the Chinese tale, Journey to the West, from the 16th century.
With this concept, AMC network ordered the first season with six hour-long episodes. The show was developed by AMC Studios in 2015.
The show’s executive producer, Stephen Fung, and a martial arts expert, Ku Huen-Chiu, worked as action directors.
Once the team was made ready, filming of the show began in Louisiana for the first season.
When AMC renewed the show for a second season, the number of episodes increased to 10 episodes.
The filming moved to the Cliffs of Moher, County Claire, Ireland. The third season was renewed for 16 episodes.
It was aired in 2018. In the third season, we saw a decline in viewership numbers and ratings.
This led to the studios declining to renew the shoe for a new season. In 2019, AMC announced that the series had been cancelled.
This made the season finale of the third season the last one.
Popular Characters from Into the Badlands
The series is filled with all kinds of characters and you will find a lot of fantasy in this series. Some of them stand out and we ought to remember them.
Daniel Wu as Sunny
Sunny is a regent for Baron Quinn. Apart from being a loyal fighter, and head clipper, of Quinn, he is also the best fighter in the Badlands.
He is a force to be reckoned with, yet his only desire is to give up fighting and live a peaceful life with his love, Veil.
You can see the nurturing and humane side when he takes in MK and teaches him how to fight and survive.
Emily Beecham as Minerva
Minerva is the widow of a Baron. After his death, she fights to keep her baronial territory.
The widow is an excellent martial artist and has some radical and rebellious ideas for Badlands.
She wants to remove the feudal system and set up a democracy. She adopts an orphaned girl, Tilda, as her child and cares for her.
She is also ruthless enough to imprison and use MK for his gift.
Aramis Knight as MK
MK is a young and inexperienced kid with a dark gift that he cannot control.
He soon becomes a weapon in the hands of Minerva. Sunny takes him under his wings and teaches him to fight, but soon the Widow imprisons him.
When he is taken away by the Abbotts, he is taught how to control his gift.
But in the third season, the Widow again imprisons him to use his power.
Marton Csokas as Quinn
Quinn is the strongest Baron in Badlands and, at one point, was the most feared.
Even if his poppy fields are the most prosperous, he is a power-hungry individual. He undercuts his devotion to Sunny and turns him into a foe.
He later detects a terminal brain tumour that gives him unbearable headaches. Despite his life-threatening illness, he still fights with the Widow.
He plots to kill Veil and use her son to gain back power.
Orla Brady as Lydia
Lydia is Quinn’s first wife and his most vocal critic. She does not like Quinn and agrees to kill him for Ryder.
Lydia aligns herself with Minerva to be against Quinn. She takes over the barony of Quinn and his mansion.
She also takes over his poppy fields later in the series.
Sarah Bolger as Jade
Jade was an ambitious social climber in the show. She was expected to be the wife of Quinn but had an affair with Ryder.
She chose to marry Quinn and gain power over his fief, and this disappointed Ryder.
Later, when Quinn was impaled by Sunny and presumed dead, she moved on and married Ryder to retain the power.
Madeleine Mantock as Veil
Veil was the love interest of Sunny. She is a doctor who works for Quinn.
Since clippers are not expected to marry and have children, Sunny and Veil plan to escape the Badlands after killing Quinn.
In the second season, she gives birth to Sunny’s son. However, she is taken hostage by Quinn and is forced to treat him.
Babou Ceesay as Pilgrim
Pilgrim is a self-styled messiah. He is the last son of Azra, the mythical Holyland.
He gets the SOS from Bajie and plans to turn Badlands into his kingdom. He is the leader of all Totemists, and he can control those with gifts.
As a result of this power, he becomes deluded and gets crazier by the day. After discovering his unstable side in divination, Cressida snatches all the holy scrolls and departs the stronghold.
The rest of the important characters in the series are:
- Ally Ioannides as Tilda
- Oliver Stark as Ryder
- Nick Frost as Bajie
- Lorraine Toussaint as Cressida
- Lewis Tan as Gaius Chau
- Sherman Augustus as Nathaniel Moon
Some interesting trivia from the show
Ku Huen-Chiu, also known as Master Dee Dee Kuma, was the stunt director of this series.
He previously worked as the stunt double for Jet Li in many of his movies.
He is also a part of the stunt choreography teams of Matrix, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and Kill Bill.
Daniel Wu, who plays Sunny, did all his stunts by himself. While most other actors relied on stunt doubles, he is trained in Wu Shu and other martial arts.
He did all his action sequences without any stuntmen. Sunny’s ride in this series is a limited edition, steampunked, 1999 Excelsior-Henderson Super X.
These bikes were produced only for two years in 1999 and 2000, later they were discontinued.
Top Similar TV Series Like Into The Badlands
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2. Defiance (2013-2015)
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Conclusion
Critics adored Into the Badlands. They were blown away by the action and martial arts. Although the series has been cancelled, we hope to see a feature-length picture one day.
They have the ability to bring back all of these wonderful personalities. The program may have been cancelled by AMC, but it may not be the end of the road.
Al Gough, Miles Millar, and Daniel Wu are all keen on turning the season 4 tale into a film.
So let us hope for the best and keep hoping. ENTOIN will continue to monitor for fresh information and developments.
