When Are They Going to Make “Manchester by the Sea 2”?
The fanbase is growing impatient
Franchises are the lifeblood of the movie industry. Blockbusters like Star Wars, Harry Potter, or the James Bond movies can finance a studio for decades. Because franchises have built-in audiences, require no new IP, and lend themselves to repeat viewing, establishing a new franchise can be worth ten or even 20 unsuccessful attempts at doing so.
2016’s Manchester by the Sea was a successful film. A somber story about the inability to move on after tragedy, it was written and directed by Kenneth Lonergan and made $79 million on a $9 million budget. It was a sensation at Sundance, earned oscars for Lonergan and lead actor Casey Affleck, and appeared on countless critic “top ten” lists. Which begs the question: Why haven’t they made another one? It’s been nine years…how long will they make us wait to see what the gang from MBTS1 have been up to in the meantime?
The main characters seem like they have a lot more to do. Affleck’s “Lee” — the grief-stricken handyman who accidentally killed his children in a fire — was moving to Boston at the end of the first movie. Did he make it? What shenanigans did he get up to in Beantown? And what about his orphaned nephew Patrick (Lucas Hedges) and his ex-wife Randi (Michelle Williams)? Did they come to visit? Did they continue to force Lee to confront his inability to come to terms with his guilt? Or did they have a completely different adventure this time, like…I don’t know — they find a treasure map? How fun would that be? I can’t be the only one dying to see Lee, Patrick, and Randi running through the historic sites of Boston trying to decipher clues while being chased by a murderous albino monk.
There are so many different ways the story could go. Maybe this time, instead of being paired with a nephew whose sense of loss makes it impossible for Lee to ignore his inability to cope with a similar challenge, Lee is paired with a mischievous chimpanzee. And maybe it turns out that the chimp is amazing at baseball, and he signs a contract with the Boston Red Sox, but Lee is the only person the chimp trusts, so the Red Sox hire him as a coach, and Lee accepts despite concerns that he might burn down Fenway Park with 38,000 spectators inside — I feel like this sequel writes itself. And even if you feel that the Lee-guides-a-chimp-to-the-World-Series plot is too obvious, I’m sure that Kenneth Lonergan could find new stories for these characters.
What about a prequel? We never met Lee’s girls — maybe they were demonic Children of the Corn-type apparitions. Or maybe just one was evil, and she staged the accident to torture her parents! That would be a mind-bending Darth-Vader-is-Luke-Skywalker’s-father type moment; it would change the whole franchise. And then Lee could pursue the mischievous child in a high-speed motorcycle chase through the streets of Tokyo.
There are endless opportunities to expand the MBTS universe. Does Patrick go to college? Who is Randi’s new husband? Is it possible that Lee’s grief is due to a serum administered by a rogue CIA program, but as the serum wears off, he discovers elite combat skills that he never knew he had? I can’t be the only person asking these questions. Nor can I be the only person who would like to see Lee and Patrick go on a raunchy road trip with a foul-mouthed robot. And what about Coda, the 2021 film that featured notably similar seabound New England sad sacks? If studio execs aren’t trying to figure out a way to do a Deadpool & Wolverine-type crossover, then frankly, they aren’t doing their jobs.
I have to think that Kenneth Lonergan must be suffering from a severe case of writer’s block — that’s the only explanation I can think of as to why a sequel hasn’t happened yet. Well, Mr. Lonergan, if I may be so bold: I’m a writer. I’ve never written a feature, but I’ve had some success as a TV and Substack writer, and I would be honored to take a first pass at a Manchester by the Sea sequel. I give you my word that I will respect the characters and world established in the original film. And towards that end, any supernatural powers Lee might assume will be the product of the pivotal event in his life, and any catchphrases Lee coins in the second film will have roots in the first. Let’s make this happen — the MBTS fan base is hungry. And if we hurry, we can get this out before Moonlight 2: Gay in L.A. dominates the contemplative sad sack film franchise market.
The only thing better than extending a franchise is extending TWO franchises. Patrick deals with his grief through a combination of overeating and horseback riding. He discovers a new purpose to his life when he decides to race his favorite pony, but it struggles to even stagger forward under Patrick's gathering heft. The title: Manchester By the Seabiscuit.
This is the greatest idea since Orson Welles almost made Citizen Kane II: The Rosebudding, where a mad scientist brings Charles Foster Kane back to life. Susan now becomes a successful opera singer, but Kane attacks her (“Brains!”) on the stage of the Chicago Lyric Opera during a performance of Tosca, whereupon the zombie couple go on a killing spree while in search of the zombie press lord’s childhood sled.