Netflix’s Bird Box Getting Spanish-Language Spinoff

Landing on Netflix at the end of 2018, the Sandra Bullock-starring Bird Box became a major sensation, dominating the world of streaming and spilling over into all of pop culture, with Deadline revealing that a Spanish-language spinoff is being developed. The success of the original film, based on the Josh Malerman novel of the same name, understandably earned reports that a follow-up could be on the way, though most theories centered around Malerman’s release of a sequel novel, which likely would have inspired a sequel film. The outlet also noted that this could be the first of many spinoffs that take place in other parts of the world.

Alex and David Pastor are set to write and direct the spinoff. No details about the plot or cast have been revealed.

In the original film, “When a mysterious force decimates the world’s population, only one thing is certain: if you see it, you take your life. Facing the unknown, Malorie finds love, hope, and a new beginning only for it to unravel. Now she must flee with her two children down a treacherous river to the one place left that may offer sanctuary. But to survive, they’ll have to undertake the perilous two-day journey blindfolded. Academy Award winner Sandra Bullock leads an all-star cast that includes Trevante Rhodes, with Sarah Paulson, and John Malkovich in Bird Box, a compelling new thriller from Academy Award winner Susanne Bier.”

Given that the sequel novel, Malorie, focuses on Bullock’s character, it would only make sense for a potential sequel to mirror the events of that narrative. Last year, Malerman teased that work was underway on the follow-up film.

“I can’t say much, but I can say that it is in development,” Malerman confirmed to Inverse of a sequel. “Sometimes it’s weird, all this secrecy, but I’m game.”

Despite the massive success of the Netflix film, Malerman noted that it didn’t impact how he wrote Malorie.

“I was also aware that there was a possibility that Sandra Bullock wouldn’t be playing Malorie,” Malerman pointed out. “When you first start writing novels, especially now, how do you not see them cinematically? We grew up on movies. So with Bird Box, I always saw it cinematically. It almost reads like stage directions. It felt the same writing Malorie, but I didn’t have Sandra Bullock in mind when I wrote the first one.”

Stay tuned for details on the Bird Box franchise.

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