The OA co-creator Zal Batmanglij reveals why he and Brit Marling declined Netflix’s offer to end the cancelled show with a movie. The series premiered in 2016 and followed Prairie Johnson (Marling), a blind young woman who mysteriously disappeared, only to reemerge several years later with the ability to see. Along with Marling, the cast of The OA included Emory Cohen, Phyllis Smith, Brendan Meyer, Patrick Gibson, Brandon Perea, Jason Isaacs, and more. Despite earning positive reviews and being conceived as a five-part story, Netflix cancelled The OA after two seasons, frustrating its dedicated fanbase in the process.
During a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Batmanglij revealed that Netflix offered to conclude The OA with a film, but “we said no.” The co-creator explained that by making a full season, he and Marling could have finished the story they had in mind, and the streaming service might have been able to profit from it. Read Batmanglij’s comments regarding the cancelation of The OA below:
The OA ending was unexpected to me, but they did try to get us to wrap it up with a movie and we said no. So I didn’t feel burnt because of that; I felt more puzzled. If you’re Netflix, why don’t you just finish it with more than just a wrap-up movie? Why don’t you finish it with a third season? It would force us to bring the three [remaining and planned] seasons into one and close it up, and then you could outsource it to Max or Hulu or wherever.
You can do so much with it if it’s finished. This idea of all these unfinished homes littering their platform, I just don’t see the economics of it. It’s much better to have a finished thing and then license that thing and make money off that thing for the next 10-to-20 years. So we didn’t feel bitter about it…
Fans Are Still Upset Over The OA’s Cancellation
The OA season 2 ending left audiences eager to find out what happened to Prairie, who landed in another dimension where she and Hap (Isaacs) were actors, resembling real life, despite these versions of their characters being married. As a result of its cancellation, a lot of questions, including that final moment and the show’s direction moving forward, were left unanswered. Marling previously discussed Netflix’s decision to cancel The OA and explained why she viewed it as a mistake. The co-creator and star noted that Netflix was unable to make more money from the series, despite its large backing, and mentioned the outcry from fans.
Fans have campaigned for The OA‘s return, taking to social media to express their disappointment and starting online petitions, and Marling has voiced her appreciation for their support. After Batmanglij’s latest comments, it’s worth wondering how audiences would have responded to a potential movie, as opposed to the season 2 finale, and how it would have concluded a story meant to last three more installments.
It has been four years, but Marling is giving some hope that The OA could come back in some capacity, revealing that she and Batmanglij have discussed it. Should that day come, it will be interesting to see if Netflix remains involved, and where The OA might pick up.
