Lots of movies have debuted on Netflix in the past several years, but not many inspired the kind of response that Bird Box did when it hit the streaming service right before Christmas last year. In just a few days, the post-apocalyptic film managed to set a massive viewing record for Netflix, with fans of the movie creating hundreds of memes dedicated to the film...which then led many others to watch the movie just to see what all the fuss was about. Of course, lots of people even took to blindfolding themselves to take on the so called "Bird Box challenge," with Netflix and public officials having to issue a statement that people, you know, just not do that, especially while driving.
With all the attention the movie, which stars Sandra Bullock as a woman trying to survive with her children in a world where people see their worst fears and then die, got, many people are wondering when we might get a follow up to the terrifying adventure. Fortunately, the answer is October 1, but, instead of coming by way of another Netflix movie, this new tale will be a sequel novel from Josh Malerman, who wrote the book of the same title that Bird Box was based on.
Josh Malerman's follow up to Bird Box is titled Malorie, and will, as indicated by the title, continue the story of Sandra Bullock's fierce, determined character as she continues to fight for survival. So, why did Malerman, who began working on Bird Box in 2006 and published his novel in 2014, decide to write a sequel? Here's what he had to say:
In the time between Bird Box coming out and the time since I’ve been writing Malorie, I’ve been asked a ton of times: people want to know what happened with Boy and Girl. But as much as I care about Boy and Girl, this isn’t their story. The Bird Box world is Malorie’s story, and I wanted to know more about her. I wanted to get to know her even better. At the end of the movie, I turned to my girl Allison and said, 'I want to know what happens next!' and she’s like, 'Well, you know, you could make that happen,' so it really was this warm feeling.
In his interview with Esquire, Josh Malerman revealed that some of his "warm feeling" has led to a story that will tell fans a lot more about Malorie and the creatures who have helped to decimate the population. The sequel will also pick up in a similar location to where the first story ended, with Malorie, her kids and a group of survivors "trying to make things work," but Malerman promises that the new story won't open "with them in paradise" so you can bet that there will be lots of challenges still ahead for Malorie and everyone she comes into contact with along the way.
Unfortunately, Malerman didn't have anything to say about plans for Netflix to adapt this new tale for streaming, but considering how wild people went for Bird Box, it's probably a pretty safe bet that those at the service will at least be paying attention to the reception that Malorie gets once it's released on October 1.
