Bradley Whitford, who played the mysterious Commander Lawrence in the second season of 'The Handmaid's Tale', has been confirmed to return for its third season and is being upped to a series regular.

Lawrence - Whitford's character - was a major plot point in the finale of the second season, as he helped to orchestrate the escape of Emily, June and her baby. As we know, of course, June frustratingly decided to stay behind in Gilead in order to help the growing underground movement called Mayday and to try and find a way to rescue her first daughter, Hannah, who was being held captive by the Waterfords.

Commander Lawrence has already been hinted as being a much more prominent character in the third season, as executive producer Bruce Miller told TVLine in a conference call. "He’s our Oppenheimer character — the man who designed an atomic bomb and then saw what it could do. He’s the designer of Gilead, and now he’s seen what it can do. So he is a mass of contradiction and dangers… now that June has crossed paths with him, she’s going to cross paths with him a lot more in Season 3."

No air date has been confirmed for the third season of 'The Handmaid's Tale', however it's expected to return in 2019.