Will there ever be a sequel to LTROI?

[dongregg]

Is there an answer to that question? I mean real sequel not just a little bit of a sequel. How are we supposed to go about waiting for the follow up?

Personally, I very much like that John Ajvide Lindqvist has said that there will be no sequels to LtROI (apart from the fan fiction here and elsewhere, of course).

Maybe you know something I don't, can you please help me understand why you think this story is best without a sequel? I'm honestly asking. After I finished reading LTROI I was left with a feeling the book was not complete, that it had no ending. I think John A. is great, that his work is original and fantastic and I thank him for it. But this is not like " The little prince" or "20 000 leagues under the sea" where you and the author made an agreement to imagine the end in whatever way you want. Can you please help me understand? At this point I'll take anything. For the last two weeks I think of nothing more than Eli, Oskar and his mom.

I'm with you in that I don't think the story is best without a sequel. But I have to face certain realities. It would be too late now for Kåre and Lina to play the roles. They are all grown up, and vampires don't grow up. In fact, I don't even think that would have been possible even is they started shooting the sequel right away. To be explicit, in the year following the release of the film, Oskar grew a head taller and Lina became a rather well filled out young woman, though only 13. I also do not think the JAL/TA/Soderqvist/Hoytema team will ever get back together. TA, for example, completed LTROI and quickly moved on to other projects with bigger budgets, such as Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. JAL is himself very prolific and has written a lot since LTROI. He's busy.

I mean we all yearn for there having been an immediate sequel with Lina and Kåre while they were still young, but it didn't happen. However, so inspired are we by the film (and book) that the sequels and prequels in the fan fiction section take the tale far beyond any limits other than our own imagination and ability.

I have an idea that you will soon find the huge amount of material here to begin to satisfy you on many levels. It might also inspire you to write your own sequel, if one bubbles up for you. I wrote a rewrite of the film version simply because I had to. I couldn't rest until I told the story from Eli's point of view. I had to capture my simple understanding of the story, stripped of all the levels of interpretation that I read here.

So I will just ask you to think about what kind of sequel would satisfy you. Will you respond with a few words (or with many words) about it? I think I'll stay a little confused until you do that.

[metoo]

Maybe you know something I don't, can you please help me understand why you think this story is best without a sequel? I'm honestly asking. After I finished reading LTROI I was left with a feeling the book was not complete, that it had no ending. I think John A. is great, that his work is original and fantastic and I thank him for it. But this is not like " The little prince" or "20 000 leagues under the sea" where you and the author made an agreement to imagine the end in whatever way you want. Can you please help me understand? At this point I'll take anything. For the last two weeks I think of nothing more than Eli, Oskar and his mom.

I think all stories are best left without a sequel. Sequels are a nuisance, because they reflect back on the original work and almost always change the preconditions of it in a detrimental way.

Therefore, I really do prefer LtROI to remain untainted by sequels.

[PeteMork]

I'm with you in that I don't think the story is best without a sequel. But I have to face certain realities. It would be too late now for Kåre and Lina to play the roles. They are all grown up, and vampires don't grow up. In fact, I don't even think that would have been possible even is they started shooting the sequel right away. To be explicit, in the year following the release of the film, Oskar grew a head taller and Lina became a rather well filled out young woman, though only 13. I also do not think the JAL/TA/Soderqvist/Hoytema team will ever get back together. TA, for example, completed LTROI and quickly moved on to other projects with bigger budgets, such as Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. JAL is himself very prolific and has written a lot since LTROI. He's busy.

I would like to think that if they can make an entire film, complete with complex characters, using CGI (e.g., Avatar), then someday soon, Oskar and Eli could once again appear on the big screen, truly immortal. And if JAL ever gets 'reinfected' and has a bit of spare time, perhaps...

[Irvino81]

Thanks for trying to help. It looks like we are in agreement we need an ending to a story that while very good it's incomplete. I wish I could write, that would be great. I liked the movie but I was more interested in the book. All I wanted was an ending I guess in a way I'm luckier than those waiting since 2004.

[metoo]

Thanks for trying to help. It looks like we are in agreement we need an ending to a story that while very good it's incomplete. I wish I could write, that would be great. I liked the movie but I was more interested in the book. All I wanted was an ending I guess in a way I'm luckier than those waiting since 2004.

There are several things to say about LtROI needing an ending. First: no story is ended. All you ever get to know is a snippet of the life of some people. This is true in fiction just as it is in real life. Second: there is LtODD, which tells us that Oskar and Eli are still alive, unchanged and together in 2008. Third: a really complete story would have to end with the death of Oskar and probably also Eli. I don't want that, I want them to live on together for ever.

However, there is one more thing to say. Many of us feel a loss when the last picture of the movie has faded, and the last page of the novel has been read. We don't want it to end, we want to stay in the company of Oskar and Eli. But this is not a fault of the film or the novel, this is not a sign that they are incomplete and need an ending. Rather, it says that both are among the most capturing works of art we have ever experienced.

[seigezunt]

I also agree that LTODD was as much closure as I could hope for. It was the sweetest gift the author could give, basically sending the pair off into eternity.

That said, I wonder if there could be some sort of in-universe continuation. What happened to the wigged man? Or some other characters? Which might afford an appearance from O&E but not imperil them?

[dongregg]

I would like to think that if they can make an entire film, complete with complex characters, using CGI (e.g., Avatar), then someday soon, Oskar and Eli could once again appear on the big screen, truly immortal. And if JAL ever gets 'reinfected' and has a bit of spare time, perhaps...

Never thought of CGI Oskar and Eli. Of course. Just today, the person who saw the last of the film yesterday started talking about a sequel. I pointed the same things out -- vampires don't age, but actors do. But yes, with CGI or, hell, as anime, the two could live on in film!

[metoo]

I'm quite sure I wouldn't want to watch a sequel to LtROI (the movie). It would have to appeal to the general public, and thus be filled with gore and stuff. It wouldn't be the continuation of LtROI we long for.

However, a sequel to the book may be viable. It would not be a novel about Oskar and Eli, but rather a collection of short stories, focusing on other people, but having Oskar and Eli flashing by. And to be sure, John already has begun the work on this! First, LtODD. Now, he has done it again, with What kept you so long?, which will be published this fall. So, if he continues this way, we will eventually have our sequel!

[dongregg]

I'm quite sure I wouldn't want to watch a sequel to LtROI (the movie). It would have to appeal to the general public, and thus be filled with gore and stuff. It wouldn't be the continuation of LtROI we long for...

An anime would need action, I would think, but plenty of anime has action, fights, death, but no gore. Think Samurai Champloo. Adventure, tender moments, narrow escapes -- all of that.

Challenge: Which fan fiction would best lend itself to an anime continuation of the film?

[metoo]

Adventure, tender moments, narrow escapes -- all of that.

Precisely. Adventure and narrow escapes. So instead of the beautiful, slow-paced LtROI, we will get an action movie.

I don't want that.