Jessica Lange has a secret American Horror Story: 13 character, and the theories are wild

Not only is Jessica Lange returning to American Horror Story for season 13, but she’s also reprising all four of her iconic characters. And if that weren’t exciting enough, she’s set to play a mysterious fifth role – and it’s safe to say there are theories. 

American Horror Story: 13 is not like the seasons that have come before it. Dubbed the “greatest hits” of AHS, it’s set to be a huge crossover event, with Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Angela Bassett, Kathy Bates and Emma Roberts returning. 

Co-creator Ryan Murphy even managed to convince Jessica Lange to come back by promising she could reprise all four of her roles: Constance Langdon from Murder House, Sister Jude Martin from Asylum, Fiona Goode from Coven and Elsa Mars from Freak Show.

The actress had already teased a potential fifth character before, something she elaborated on while speaking on Good Morning America this week. “There is a fifth character, but I won’t say who that is,” she explained.

But what she said next is even more interesting: “I’d be curious if anybody can figure it out when it, yeah…” Her comment about viewers being able to “figure it out” could suggest the fifth role might not be immediately obvious – but we can’t be certain until season 13 drops. 

So, who could Jessica Lange’s mysterious fifth AHS character be?

There are plenty of theories circulating right now, one of which is that Lange’s mysterious fifth character is some sort of deity – or God herself. 

This was shared on Reddit, where one person replied, “That was my first thought.” But another commented, “If not God, the first supreme would be my next bet.”

A third pointed out how we have technically already seen the first Supreme, joking, “We saw the first Supreme. ‘Ol Swamp Witch with the turtle shell duct taped to her head.”

They’re referring to Scáthach, the ancient witch introduced in Roanoke, who Murphy later confirmed was the very first Supreme. Lady Gaga played Scáthach in the My Roanoke Nightmare re-enactment.

But this doesn’t necessarily rule out the theory altogether. AHS has already shown different portrayals of the character, and given season 13 is tied to the Coven storyline, it’s not out of the question. 

Another theory suggests Lange could be playing actress and singer Marlene Dietrich, thanks to a seemingly throwaway line from Freak Show.

“In Freak Show episode 3, Maggie does a reading for Elsa, she says ‘She looks like you’, Elsa responds ‘Marlene? That b**** stole my career…’ So I think it’s Marlene Dietrich,” one person suggested.

Dietrich is referenced several times throughout the season, and given the 13th chapter is bringing real historical figures into the AHS universe, Lange suddenly appearing as Dietrich isn’t impossible. 

Another name being thrown around is Joan Crawford, which would be a particularly meta choice. Lange previously played the Hollywood star in Murphy’s Feud: Bette and Joan, so it would essentially bring one of her characters from another Murphy series into the AHS universe.

As one Redditor wrote, “If it is Joan Crawford, I will gasp and scream.”

There’s also The Countess, Lady Gaga’s vampire from Hotel. “I was hoping when Hotel aired that The Countess would rapidly age and turn into Jessica, could be cool if they do that and can’t get Gaga back,” one fan wrote. 

But another pointed out a problem with this theory: “That was my first spontaneous thought as well, but I think it’s unlikely. The multi-characters per actor dynamic is already complex enough. 

“I don’t think they would add an actress-switch from an already known character from a previous season, it would be too messy. But I would LOVE seeing her portraying the countess, with all my respects to Gaga.”

Last but definitely not least, there are plenty of suggestions that Lange might play a very meta version of herself. “She’s gonna play the actress Jessica Lange but from the evil mirror dimension,” quipped one, to which another said, “Came to say an alternate version of Jessica Lange.”

Thankfully, there’s not long to wait until we find out, as American Horror Story season 13 premieres at 9pm ET on FX and Hulu on Thursday, September 24. 

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Featured image credit: FX