The new science fiction thriller Life centers around the discovery of a life form on Mars that ends up being an unstoppable killing force, answering the age old question of whether or not we should go looking for life outside our own planet (clearly we shouldn't). The movie's stellar cast, well-paced story, and terrifying original alien creature have some fans clamoring for another installment, but could a Life sequel happen, or is this a one and done franchise? Spoilers ahead.
To be honest, a sequel doesn't seem very likely, but if one does occur, then it will likely look very little like the film that preceded it. At the end of the film, after being terrorized by the alien creature aboard their spacecraft, a plan is hatched for astronaut Dr. David Jordan (Jake Gyllenhaal) to launch himself and the beast into deep space to keep it from ever reaching Earth, while fellow astronaut Dr. Miranda North will return home. But due to a mix up, Dr. North is accidentally sent to deep space to die, leaving Dr. Jordan — and the creature — to return to Earth. After he is discovered back on land, Jordan pleads with those outside the ship to not open the door, or else they'll let out the creature. They don't listen, and the movie ends on the door being opened.
So basically, if there is a sequel to Life, then it should be called Death, because that's what it would be about. The film's alien creature is unstoppable and is in a constant state of growth, meaning that it would eventually just take over the planet and kill everyone. And while that would potentially be a unique sequel that basically no one would see coming, I'd be pretty shocked to see that actually happen. However, there is precedent for such a sequel to occur.
Cloverfield, which featured the implied destruction of Earth (or at least New York), spawned a surprise sequel (or was it a prequel?) ten years later that looked nothing like it, the superb 10 Cloverfield Lane. Now there's going to be a whole "Cloververse" franchise, with the next planned film in the series expected to be the outer space-set God Particle.
So if Cloverfield can come up with an entire franchise of completely different-looking films based on an unstoppable alien force wiping out life on Earth, then why can't Life?
