mad men season 5 poster mannequinsLess than a month remains until Mad Men returns to AMC for season five, and it seems like creator/writer Matthew Weiner is working overtime to whet fans' appetites. The latest: A new season five poster has been released, and it's creating all kinds of buzz. Mostly because we're all wondering, "What does it mean?!??" 

The poster, as you can see, features Don's reflection in a storefront window displaying a male mannequin, looking Hugh Hefner-esque in striped PJs as he looks on at a nude female mannequin. Is it a nod to the return of Don's cheating ways? Could Sterling Draper Cooper Pryce be taking Playboy on as a big fish client? Matthew Weiner's talking ... but just enough to get us on the edge of our seats for March 25.

He explained:

This is a dreamlike image ... a nonverbal representation of where my head is at and where the show will be.

Okay, so he's really not saying much at all. But a first glimpse at those mannequins really does beg the question as to whether Playboy -- or Hugh -- will be somehow woven into the show. (And wouldn't that be a super-snub to the network rip-off, The Playboy Club, which totally tanked last fall?) It's not as if the show doesn't have a perfect "in" already to that world, given Lane Pryce's relationship last year with New York Bunny Toni Charles. Or maybe it's not Hugh, but Don represented there. Either way, it looks like things are going to be equally -- if not more -- steamy on the Draper front this time around. Yes!

And as if the poster weren't enough, Weiner is dishing more about the season premiere, which sounds EPIC. He told The Hollywood Reporter:

It's a Mad Men movie -- I don't think anyone's going to think it's two episodes spliced together. There is a story that starts in the middle of it [but otherwise] it's one story. The beginning and the ending are related to each other.

Well, obviously, Weiner is a TV mastermind who knows how to reel us in and keep us hanging. Fears that the long break between season four and season five will result in diminished interest are craaaazy. We've clearly got a major treat to look forward to!

Are you looking forward to the premiere of Mad Men? What do you think about these new clues?

 

Image via AMC