The Prodigy Writer “Would Love” to Make a Follow-Up Film

Writer Jeff Buhler is having a strong year, with last month’s adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary being a major hit with audiences and critics. Even before the high-profile film landed in theaters, another film Buhler wrote, The Prodigy, became a hit with horror fans thanks to its reinvention of familiar “creepy kid” genre tropes. With that film featuring a more open-ended conclusion to its story, and with the narrative building buzz by the day, fans are wondering if we could see the continued adventures of the main characters. While no official plans have been announced, Buhler expressed his excitement at getting the chance to continue the narrative with a sequel.

“I would love to,” Buhler shared with ComicBook.com about his interest in making a sequel. “It was gratifying for me to hear so much positive feedback from horror fans, especially fans that are particularly fond of the evil kid genre. The only negative response that we got to that film was like, ‘Oh, it’s another evil kid movie.’ How is that bad? I could probably watch one every other year, I love those movies. But I think people appreciated the way we dissected parenting, contemporary parenting ideas. There’s definitely a generational aspect to it with young parents have all this pressure to be perfect, and the Taylor Schilling character, Sarah, is doing everything she can to be a good mother.”

In the film, a young boy displays advanced intellect and bizarre behavior, leading his family to believe he may be inhabited by a nefarious entity. When reflecting on the prevailing themes in The Prodigy, Buhler noticed a trend in his works where the conclusion feels organic but rarely hopeful.

“It really asks that question, how far would you go for your kid?” the filmmaker recalled. “And then to be able to pull the rug out as we did, and I think unfortunately that seems to be something I enjoy doing, if I look back to Midnight Meat Train, Prodigy, all these movies, none of them end well for anyone. Maybe I’m just cynical, or enjoy that ending. I love movies that do that, I think they’re brave when you don’t try to patch things up, and you leave things maybe mysterious in some way, or you leave things unanswered, and you just end on that tone where it’s ringing out, and you’re like, ‘Oh god, this is not over.’ I enjoy that as a fan of the genre, so that’s what I tend to do.”

Fans can check out The Prodigy on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD now.

Would you like to see the film get a sequel? Let us know in the comments below or hit up @TheWolfmanon Twitter to talk all things horror and Star Wars!

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