American Horror Story Season 12’s Casting Teases Villain Twist More Shocking Than Kim Kardashian

American Horror Story season 12's cast list may contain a villain surprise even more shocking than Kim Kardashian's starring role in the show.

While Kim Kardashian's character is already theorized to be a villain in American Horror Story season 12, the show’s casting announcement may have hidden another, even better secret reveal. American Horror Story season 12 will be a departure from the formula for the long-running horror anthology series. Not only will American Horror Story: Delicate have a new showrunner, but the outing will also be the first season adapted from a novel. Author Danielle Valentine’s book Delicate Condition provides the source material for American Horror Story season 12’s story of an actor who believes she is stalked by a shadowy presence after she becomes pregnant, with the book also taking inspiration from Rosemary's Baby.

While American Horror Story season 12’s Rosemary’s Baby influence is obvious, the show’s creators have gone out of their way to ensure that viewers won’t be able to guess everything about the upcoming outing’s story. Though series veteran Emma Roberts wasn't a surprising choice for American Horror Story: Delicate’s lead character, many were shocked to learn that she would be acting alongside reality TV star Kim Kardashian. Despite her limited acting experience, Kardashian plays a major role in American Horror Story season 12 as the heroine’s closest friend and confidante, though it's theorized that she could have hidden sinister intentions for Roberts' character. This, however, is not the only clever casting surprise up the show’s sleeve.

Matt Czuchry plays Emma Roberts’ husband in what could be some clever meta-casting on the part of American Horror Story: Delicate’s creators. Czuchry is best known for playing Logan on Gilmore Girls, a charming but caddish and unreliable love interest. While Kim Kardashian’s American Horror Story season 12 character will riff on her public persona as she plays a Hollywood sex symbol, Czuchry’s part could also trade off his reputation from Gilmore Girls. If Roberts’ partner is a darker version of the amoral love interest Logan, he could either abet her attempts to uncover her tormentors or turn out to secretly be one of them.

While Logan was never an outright villain in Gilmore Girls, he was unwittingly central to Rory’s gradual loss of innocence. If Czuchry takes the charm that he brought to Logan and spins it into a more actively insidious character, American Horror Story: Delicate could end up fulfilling the actor’s villainous potential from decades earlier. American Horror Story’s obsession with pregnancy means that Czuchry will likely play a major role in season 12 since his status as the heroine’s husband will make him one of her closest companions. This could result in Czuchry’s character repeating a classic trope from the season’s greatest film inspiration.

In the brutal ending of Rosemary’s Baby, the titular heroine is horrified to discover that her charming husband has been in league with her attackers all along. Czuchry’s character could be a similarly deceitful figure, particularly given his screen history, and American Horror Story: Delicate could make this twist even more devastating by casting a star viewers already associated with smarmy but ultimately good-natured love interests. By playing on Czuchry’s rebellious but sweet persona from Gilmore Girls, American Horror Story season 12 could distract viewers until the show’s ending shockingly reveals that he has been a major villain all along.