The Good Omens season 2 cast list has confirmed that Benedict Cumberbatch and Frances McDormand will not be returning for the show’s second season. In Good Omens season 1, Frances McDormand provided the narration as the voice of God, while Benedict Cumberbatch voices Satan/Lucifer, the father of Adam Young, when he appeared at the end of the series. While actors choosing not to return for a new season of a show would usually be cause for concern, there are narrative reasons which might explain these actors’ absences.
Good Omens season 1 was based on the book of the same name by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. While the book never received a published sequel, and Pratchett has sadly since passed away, the authors had created a plan prior for how the narrative would continue after the first book, and Neil Gaiman will be bringing that plan to life in Good Omens season 2. The first season saw the angel Aziraphale (Michael Sheen) and the fallen angel Crowley (David Tennant) charged with keeping track of the Anti-Christ on Earth. Through hilarious hi jinks, the Anti-Christ ended up being raised by a normal family and ultimately rejected his father when he appeared, banishing Satan and saving the day.
Given that Good Omens season 1 saw Satan defeated by Adam Young when he used his powers to change reality to make it so that Lucifer wasn’t his father, it makes sense that neither Satan nor Benedict Cumberbatch will be making a repeat appearance in Good Omens season 2. At first glance, it seems stranger that Frances McDormand will not be returning as the narrator or as God. However, while Good Omens season 1 dealt with the main characters since the moment of creation and centered on the battle between God and Satan, Good Omens season 2 is set to tell a fresh story, and as Sir Derek Jacobi will be returning as the Metatron (AKA the voice of God), the need for Frances McDormand to return to play God themselves is absent.
While relatively little is known about the plot for Good Omens season 2, some clues do help to indicate why both Satan (Benedict Cumberbatch) and God (Frances McDormand) would have smaller or non-existent roles. The planned title for the unwritten Good Omens sequel was 668 – The Neighbour of the Beast. This suggests that the story will deal with a new but different threat from Hell, and while Satan might be referenced, he is less likely to play a major part. Similarly, Neil Gaiman revealed that the plot would include a lot more angels and would be introduced by the mystery of an amnesiac angel appearing at Aziraphale’s doorstep. This mystery and angel-focused story is likely to be much more about tangible characters than giant schemes of the ineffable God, so like Cumberbatch’s Satan, McDormand’s God is simply not necessary for the story.
Good Omens season 1 was a direct adaptation of the original book. As so much of the charm of Good Omens came from the clever wordplay and descriptions of both Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, it was important to have a narrator, in this case, Frances McDormand as God, who could provide some of those turns of phrase in the adaptation. As Good Omens season 2 will be based on an idea that was never written down in full, those clever ideas can be naturally worked into character dialogue rather than needing a season narrator, and therefore it is not necessary for either Benedict Cumberbatch or Frances McDormand to return in the vocal roles for Good Omens season 2.