We discuss whether there will be a The Pale Blue Eye 2, a sequel to the Netflix film The Pale Blue Eye, and will contain spoilers.
Scott Cooper’s latest film is now streaming on Netflix. Adapted from Louis Bayard’s 2006 novel of the same name, it stars Christian Bale as detective Augustus Landor. After being called by high-ranking military officials to investigate the recent murder of a Military Academy cadet, he crosses paths with another young cadet named Edgar Allan Poe, played by Harry Melling.
Poe acts as Dr. Watson to Landor’s Sherlock Holmes, from helping him solve the case to acting as an excuse for Bale to deliver exposition to the audience, where he explains his latest findings. Poe is later targeted by the Marquis family, who try to rip his heart out and offer it to the devil as part of a satanic ritual trying to save Lea Marquis from her imminent death due to her continuing seizures.
In a shocking twist, the final act of the film reveals that the Marquis family had not killed any of the two cadets and instead only desecrated their bodies. It was actually Augustus Landor himself who killed two of the three men behind his own daughter’s rape that, ultimately caused her to commit suicide. Poe finds out about it but doesn’t turn him in, leaving the door open for another story — especially since the third cadet is on the run.
The Pale Blue Eye sequel potential release date
There is no sequel in development that we know of. If, over the next few weeks, Netflix considers that the movie performed quite well on the service and they think it’s worth it to explore more stories from Augustus Landor and Edgar Allan Poe, they could commission a new script to be written in the next few months, targeting a production start this winter, for a possible late 2024 release.
It also depends on where and when they want to film it. If they want to set it in the winter, like The Pale Blue Eye was, they could be shooting a year from now. However, if they wanted to set it in the summer, for instance, they would have to wait for next year, pushing the release to 2025. It also depends on the cast’s schedule. Christian Bale doesn’t have a lot of projects in the pipeline, according to IMDb, nor do Harry Melling or Scott Cooper, but that doesn’t mean they will not be signing on to other projects over the next few months.
The Pale Blue Eye sequel cast – who might be in it?
For now, the only two people that would need to be back are Christian Bale and Harry Melling. Scott Cooper being brought back as writer and director would also be nice, as would the return of Charlotte Gainsbourg as the tavern owner Patsy or even Hadley Robinson to play Landor’s daughter, Mattie, in flashbacks. If the movie will also bring back cadet Stoddard, they could bring back Joey Brooks, who played him in The Pale Blue Eye, though the part was quite minor, and nobody would blink if they recast the role.
The Pale Blue Eye sequel plot – what could The Pale Blue Eye 2 be about?
The door for another story was left wide open when The Pale Blue Eye let cadet Stoddard escape and not be chased after. Bale did say in the movie that he would not go after him, forcing him to look over his shoulder for the rest of his life. The original book does not have a direct sequel, but it’s easy to see where it could go.
We could jump forward a few years in time, and meet back with Christian Bale’s Augustus Landor, who is being called back to solve a familiar case. The cadet that had run away from the Academy in 1830, Stoddard, has now been found dead. It will soon become a very personal case for him, but the only other person in the world that knows why is Edgar Allan Poe, who has now transitioned into writing prose.
Poe is very suspicious of Landor, thinking that maybe he couldn’t keep his word, and is threatening to turn him in to the police. Things only get worse when we learn that Stoddard was seen forcing another woman in a dark alley the night before, but she’s nowhere to be found. Moreover, Landor was also nearby that night, and Poe can’t take it anymore. He thinks Landor witnessed it and killed Stoddard. Landor, however, was simply meeting with his new lover, in an attempt to put his life back together. Finally, he’s able to locate the woman, who confesses to him in private to have killed Stoddard after being able to escape his grip. Landor promises to keep the secret, and in doing so, finally finds some closure for his daughter.
Of course, this is pure fan fiction. Do you like the idea? Do you have alternate sequel ideas? Let us know in the comments!
