Ryan Murphy Reveals ‘American Horror Story: 13’ Is a Full-Blown Crossover, and It’s Basically ‘The Avengers’ – We Love It

Anthology shows live and die by reinvention, but few franchises have leaned into crossover chaos quite like Ryan Murphy’s horror universe. After more than a decade of standalone seasons occasionally winking at one another, that approach is about to change in a genuinely massive way.

Anticipation for the show’s thirteenth installment has been building since production first kicked off back in April, fueled by a steady stream of first-look photos teasing the return of some of the franchise’s most iconic performers. Many fans initially assumed the new season would simply revisit the beloved witches of ‘Coven’, but that assumption turned out to be only part of the picture.

Speaking with Entertainment Tonight at the world premiere of FX’s ‘The Shards’, Murphy confirmed that Season 13 isn’t a standalone ‘Coven’ revival at all, but rather a sprawling crossover pulling from the franchise’s entire history. He described the concept as bringing characters from every past season together to defeat what he’s calling the ultimate evil, comparing the scale of the event directly to ‘The Avengers’.

That comparison isn’t just marketing language, either, given just how many roles the show’s biggest stars are reportedly juggling. According to Murphy, Sarah Paulson is set to play six or seven different characters throughout the season, while Jessica Lange will reprise all four of her most iconic roles from across the franchise. Evan Peters, meanwhile, is confirmed to portray five separate characters.

Lange’s involvement alone carries significant weight for longtime fans, given that she previously stated in a February 2025 interview that she had no plans to return to the series. Her characters set to return include Constance Langdon from the original ‘Murder House’ season, Sister Jude from ‘Asylum’, Fiona Goode from ‘Coven’, and Elsa Mars from ‘Freak Show’, giving fans a chance to revisit four of the show’s most beloved villains and antiheroes in a single run.

Paulson and Peters bring their own extensive histories to the table as well, having appeared across nearly every season of the anthology dating back to its very first installment. Between the two of them, they’ve played well over a dozen distinct characters combined throughout the show’s run, meaning Murphy’s tease still leaves plenty of mystery around exactly which past roles will make the cut.

Rounding out the returning cast are Kathy Bates, Emma Roberts, and Billie Lourd, alongside newcomer Ariana Grande, who’s set to join the ‘American Horror Story’ universe for the first time following her earlier collaboration with Murphy on ‘Scream Queens’. Angela Bassett is also confirmed to return, reprising her ‘Coven’ role as Marie Laveau.

Murphy also confirmed the season will run for thirteen episodes, explaining the choice was simply tied to the season’s numerical title. He noted the scripts took months, and in some cases years, to develop alongside longtime collaborators Brad Falchuk, Ned Martel, and Charlie Carver.

According to Murphy, convincing his longtime cast to return wasn’t always an easy sell, given how many of them had previously declined to come back for earlier seasons. He described pitching the crossover concept directly to Lange, recalling that once she heard the scale of what he had planned, she realized she had no choice but to say yes.

With thirteen episodes and a returning cast this stacked, ‘American Horror Story: 13‘ is shaping up to be the franchise’s most ambitious installment yet. The season is set to premiere on FX and Hulu on September 24.

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