Purple Hearts Sequel: Director Says Follow-Up is “Possibility”

The new film Purple Hearts has been taking Netflix by storm, with the politically themed feature recently having the biggest single week for a film on the streaming platform for all of 2022 with a staggering 102.59 million viewing hours and now the film’s director says a follow-up to Left vs. Right spin on the Marriage of Convenience trope is a possibility. Speaking with Variety, Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum, who is also a producer on the film, revealed that nothing has been set in stone, but she also won’t rule anything out.

“I mean, I could watch the two of them and their chemistry all day,” Rosenbaum said of stars Sofia Carson and Nicholas Galitzine. “And they’re just great people to work with, so I definitely won’t rule it out. We wouldn’t do anything unless we really, really loved it, because we want to stay true to the integrity. We haven’t landed on anything specific yet. It’s always a possibility.”

Carson, who also serves as a producer on the film, similarly said she wouldn’t rule out continuing the story.

“Now fans have kind of been demanding a sequel and there’s so many fan theories and fan stories and potential spinoffs, so of course it’s lovely to think of a life for Cassi and Luke beyond this film,” Carson said. “I adore being Cassie and I’d be curious to see where it goes. Who knows. You never know!”

In Purple Hearts, “in spite of their many differences, Cassie (Carson), a struggling singer-songwriter, and Luke (Galitzine), a troubled marine, agree to marry solely for military benefits. But when tragedy strikes, the line between real and pretend begins to blur.” The film debuted on Netflix on July 29th.

Even with the film’s massive popularity, Purple Hearts has managed to stir a bit of controversy as well. Some viewers have called the film “military propaganda” while others have expressed concerns that the film has “hints of racism, misogyny, and anti-LGBTQ sentiments.” Carson told The Hollywood Reporter that the film wanted to avoid taking specific political sides.

“We definitely wanted to showcase the dichotomy between these two characters and their incredibly differing political views without taking any sides,” Carson said. “They see each other with compassion and empathy. Call it optimistic, but that’s the story that we wanted to tell, is that if you lead with love, love can heal in ways that can be quite powerful.”

Purple Hearts is now streaming on Netflix.