Mike Flanagan’sThe Haunting of Bly Manorwas a massive hit onNetflixand actually reigned its most-watched charts throughout October. In our books that means an instant confirmation for the third instalment in this epic horror anthology series. But hopes of the fans who had been eagerly waiting for the streaming platform to give it a green flag have been doused by Flanagan himself- he has confirmed that there are “no plans” to bring another “Haunting” series to Netflix.
Flanagan’s “Haunting” series started in 2018 withThe Haunting of Hill House, based on Shirley Jackson’s classic horror story of the same name, that slowly but steadily gained a widespread fanbase in awe of the story’s unique and fresh approach to horror. That’s all the creator of the series and his executive producing partner Trevor Macy needed to start working on the second, brand new instalment for their hit anthology series.
This year, he broughtThe Haunting of Bly Manorwhich is an adaptation of author Henry James’The Turn of the Screw,The Romance of Certain Old ClothesandThe Jolly Corner. It starred returning actors from Season 1 like Victoria Pedretti, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Henry Thomas, Kate Siegel, and Katie Parker but in new roles which were stark opposites to their characters in theHill House.
Bly Manorbrought us to the Bly estate where a young au pair,Dani Clayton, arrives to look after two orphaned kids, Flora and Miles. But she soon realizes that the manor is haunted but not by faceless ghosts that just frequented the dark corners of the house inHill House. Here, they had a story, a past, and unfulfilled dreams that led them to blur the fine line between the dead and the living.
Given the success of this new chapter, fans expected Flanagan to already be ready with plans for the third stand-alone season. But recently, when he was asked the same on social media, he said this
“At the moment there are no plans for more chapters. Never say never, of course, but right now we are focused on a full slate of other @intrepid projects for 2021 and beyond. If things change we will absolutely let everyone know!”
As for the “full slate” of projects Flanagan mentioned in his tweet, they are all part of the big multi-year deal he struck with Netflix postHill House’s success. While it is already known that he had begun filming a new Netflix series, titledMidnight Mass, he recently completed its production earlier this month after it was earlier delayed due to the pandemic. The series will depict the “miraculous events and frightening omens” that an isolated community start facing after a mysterious priest arrives. It is set to star Siegel, Thomas, as well asBly Manor’s fan-favourite star, Rahul Kohli. The series will also feature Zach Gilford, Annabeth Gish, Kristin Lehman, Hamish Linklater, Rahul Abburi, Crystal Balint, Matt Biedel, Alex Essoe, Longstreet, Igby Rigney, Michael Trucco, Annarah Shephard, and Samantha Sloyan.
So, if the filmmaker eventually does intend to make plans for a Season 3 for his “Haunting” series it won’t happen for alongtime as afterMidnight Mass(which is yet to go into post-production), Flanagan also has to begin working on the Stephen King horror movieRevival. Well, until we can get our hands on another Flanagan-created wonder, there is still the option to binge on the soul-chilling episodes ofBly ManoronNetflix streaming app.
