There Will Definitely Be an Empire Spin-Off, Lee Daniels Says

Talks of a spin-off of Fox's Empire have been going on since the summer of 2015 -- probably even earlier behind closed doors, as the show's Season 1 ratings are something of a legend in the business -- and they haven't cooled off, according to show creator Lee Daniels.

"I can officially say that we will be having a spin-off," Daniels told The Hollywood Reporter at the Television Critics Association winter previews Wednesday. Fox did not respond to requests for confirmation as of press time.

Fox renews Empire for Season 4

The subject of the spin-off is still under wraps, but Daniels said, "We're finally figuring it out. It takes a minute, you know? We just really had to build the foundation of Empire, so we then try to figure out what that B-chorus is. It looks like it's going to happen."

Early word on the spin-off is that it would be based on the past of Cookie Lyons, the breakout character portrayed on Empire by Taraji P. Henson. When talks of the spin-off were brought up again in 2016, Lucious Lyon's (Terrence Howard) name was thrown in as well. Now?

"We really are in deep talks about it, and we're having all these ideas thrown around to figure it out," Daniels said.

Empire returns Wednesday, March 22 at 9/8c on Fox.