7 Years On, We’re Still Waiting For Netflix’s Best Potential Sci-Fi Franchise to Really Kick Off

by

Seven years ago, Netflix had a chance to start a fantastic new movie series, but the idea hasn’t been developed yet. While Netflix has created many successful movies and TV shows, like Stranger Things, the Marvel Defenders series, Squid Game, and Enola Holmes, one promising concept has been overlooked. This concept offered a unique and compelling story set in a post-apocalyptic world with a lot of potential.

2018 was a huge year for Netflix original movies, with popular releases like Mute, The Cloverfield Paradox, How It Ends, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, Cam, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, and even the Academy Award-winning Roma. While some of these films got sequels or expanded into franchises, one 2018 release has largely been overlooked: Bird Box. Released on December 21st, Bird Box was a successful adaptation of its source material, but Netflix hasn’t been sure how to proceed with it since.

Bird Box Could Have Kicked-Off Netflix’s Best New Franchise in 2018

The movie Bird Box, released in 2018, is based on Josh Malerman’s 2014 novel. It tells the story of Malorie Hayes (Sandra Bullock), who is unexpectedly pregnant and trying to survive in a world where unseen creatures drive people to suicide simply by being looked at. The film was a huge hit for Netflix, becoming its most-watched movie at the time. However, Netflix didn’t fully take advantage of its success. Plans for a sequel, and potentially other international versions of the story, were discussed in 2021, but those ideas haven’t moved forward.

As a fan, I always felt the world of Bird Box had so much potential. The sequel showed us the events weren’t limited to just one place, and I really think exploring other groups of survivors around the globe would have been brilliant. It would have set Bird Box apart from other shows and movies about the end of the world, which often kept things very focused on a small group – though The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon is starting to do something similar now. It’s a real shame we didn’t get to see more people struggling to survive against those terrifying unseen creatures, especially after how strong the sequel was.

Bird Box’s Only Sequel Expanded the Franchise in a Very Interesting Way

Released in July 2023, Bird Box Barcelona was Netflix’s first effort to build on the world of Bird Box with international stories. Though reviews were mixed, the film successfully continued the narrative, presenting new characters and challenging scenarios. A key storyline followed Sebastián (Mario Casas), a man who has seen the creatures and now compels others to look, often with tragic results. This unexpected twist demonstrated the potential for a much larger Bird Box universe.

As a big fan of Bird Box, I was really intrigued by Bird Box Barcelona – it definitely showed Netflix was thinking about expanding the story worldwide. It’s a shame nothing’s happened since! The way Barcelona ended, with the military capturing both an entity and someone who could ‘see’ them, felt like a perfect setup for more movies. I’m really hoping they explore things like an antibody or finally reveal what those creatures are actually doing. It took five years to get the sequel, so we might be waiting a while for Bird Box 3, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed it eventually happens.

Bird Box Already Has the Perfect Story For a Sequel

Although the ending of Bird Box Barcelona suggests a possible continuation, a sequel could also be based on Josh Malerman’s novel Malorie, which continues the story of the original Bird Box. Published in 2020 after the film’s success, Malorie sees Malorie and her children forced to leave their safe school for the blind when it’s invaded. Twelve years later, they’ve settled at a Jewish summer camp, but embark on a new journey when Malorie learns her parents might still be alive in a different community.

The novel Malorie continued the story of Bird Box very well and could be a great basis for a new live-action movie. The book reveals that some people have been capturing and studying the creatures, similar to the military experiments shown in Bird Box Barcelona. Bringing this element into the films could connect them all, and a third Bird Box movie could recapture the suspense of the original. Fans would love to see Sandra Bullock return as Malorie in a true sequel, and Netflix should consider making it happen.

What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!

https://comicbook.com/horror/news/netflixs-bird-boxs-unseen-creatures-revealed-photos/embed/#

Read More

2025-12-30 17:43