Teen Wolf’s Lydia Actor Offers Passionate Response About Another Return: “So Grateful For It”
Exclusive: Lydia actor Holland Roden offers a passionate response about another potential Teen Wolf return and the show launching her to stardom.
With the movie continuation proving a hit for Paramount+, Holland Roden has a very passionate response to the possibility of returning for more Teen Wolf. Roden starred in the MTV supernatural show as popular girl Lydia Martin who quickly becomes best friends with Crystal Reed’s Allison, eventually coming to be in a relationship with Dylan O’Brien’s Stiles and transforming into a Banshee after being bitten by Alpha Peter Hale. Lydia returned for Teen Wolf: The Movie, in which it was revealed she broke up with Stiles due to recurring visions of his death in a car accident with her.
While speaking exclusively with Screen Rant for her psychological horror movie Mother, May I? prior to the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike, Holland Roden shared her thoughts on another potential Teen Wolf return. The Lydia actor was very passionate in her desire to come back for another installment in the supernatural franchise, recalling how the show helped launch her into stardom and even introducing her to some of her best friends. See what Roden shared below:
Oh, gosh, I’m so thankful for Teen Wolf, because not only did it change my life, but internally as a person, I grew up on the show. I was in college when I got that show, and 31 leaving it, so I will always be indebted to Teen Wolf, and gladly, joyfully, so. So, if Jeff ever approached me, I’m always willing to listen and eager to be a part of the next chapter, because Lydia is — I recently did a movie where the other character was named Lydia, and that was a real head trip for me. [Chuckles] Because I had to say “Lydia”, meaning someone else in the movie, and I felt very offended. [Laughs] Jokes aside, it was hard to be in a movie where Lydia was another character and not me, so I’m always open to it. Teen Wolf let me make Mother, May I?, I will always know the reason why I get to be in this business is because of that show, and I will never forget that, and be so grateful for it. My best friends come from Teen Wolf, shout out to Colton Haynes and Ian Bohen and Shelley Hennig. Shelley is a mess of a human, I love her so much. I joke when I say that she’s a mess of a human, she’s just fun, crazy, she’s got an energy that is so unique, and that’s why she’s Shelley. Crystal now lives in New York, so we all keep in touch, we’re ready and willing for the next chapter.
Editor’s Note: This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, and the franchise covered here would not exist without the labor of the writers and actors in both unions.
Teen Wolf Needs Another Movie To Fix Stiles’ Absence
Though anticipation was generally high among fans of the show for another chapter in Beacon Hills, Teen Wolf: The Movie already faced a large amount of skepticism when it was confirmed O’Brien would not be back as Stiles, citing the rushed development and production as his reason for not returning. Creator Jeff Davis later revealed that he and O’Brien had multiple conversations about how to bring Stiles back, ranging from a cameo to a “few days of shooting”, though they ultimately agreed the character was better left out of the story.
Ultimately, O’Brien’s absence proved one of the more criticized elements of Teen Wolf: The Movie, with many viewers feeling Lydia’s revelation went against the themes at the heart of the show. Additionally, with the character’s father, Linden Ashby’s Chief Stilinski, revealing that Stiles was now working with the FBI and was dealing with bigger issues than a revived Nogitsune and amnesiac Allison. The movie doesn’t specifically explain what was keeping Stiles away, nor does it see Lydia or his friends reach out to him in the hopes of enlisting his help or to check in on him.
With Davis confirming shortly after the movie’s release that Lydia and Stiles could get back together, another Teen Wolf movie seems necessary to better address the latter’s absence and offer a more meaningful path for his return. Considering the movie ended with Tyler Hoechlin’s Derek sacrificing himself, it would be interesting to see how Stiles responds to the death of his pack Alpha, as well as him and Lydia addressing her potential premonition of his death. It’s unclear whether another Teen Wolf movie will happen following the mixed critical response to the first one, but its viewership record-breaking could help its chances.
