'Empire' Season 2 Drops Full Trailer, Spinoff in the Works?

Empire Season 2 proved surprisingly generous in debuting its first trailer early, but it’s gloves off, claws out by the first full promo. Get an eyeful of Lucious’ downfall, guest stars the likes of Marisa Tomei, Chris Rock and more by the newest trailer, plus … is a spinoff in the works?

Just before the show’s TCA press tour panel, FOX drip-dropped a full trailer twice the size of the previous, in which we saw that efforts to #FreeLucious aren’t half so meticulous as the ones to depose him as Empire CEO. Lucious at least has Marisa Tomei’s hip hop-loving lesbian billionaire in his corner, but the biggest challenge remains of getting away from a dangerous prison stretch.

And while creator Lee Daniels spoke at the panel that a direct spinoff will almost certainly emerge at some point, FOX has actively ordered a pilot for Daniels’ next series Star, which follows the rise of a girl group in Atlanta. FOX bosses envision the two as separate entities for the moment, but acknowledge the possibility for crossover:

Like Empire, it’s set against the backdrop of the music business but from a very different perspective. Set in Atlanta, it’s about three girls who come together to form a band and it’s about their rise to the top in a very challenging business. It’s the perspective of the artist and, without getting too much into the storyline, one of our characters is rising out of poverty and there is a a lot from Lee’s own life that’s baked into the DNA of this project.

In addition to its September 23 premiere, Empire Season 2 will expand to 18 episodes, up from the first run’s 12, and structured in two halves with a major cliffhanger between. Thus far, Season 2 guest stars include Mariah Carey, Adam Busch, Andre Royo, Kelly Rowland, Marisa Tomei, Adam Rodriguez, Chris Rock, Lenny Kravitz and Alicia Keys, while hip-hop artist Ne-Yo will join Timbaland in writing music for Season 2.