Jane Schoenbrun‘s “I Saw the TV Glow” is a singular work of cinema, a film that earned rave reviews for committing to its distinct aesthetic and exploration of the ways that our attachments to pop culture that feel disposable to others can be linked to trans identity. But despite many hailing it as a perfect standalone movie, the filmmaker believes there might be even more stories to tell in the world of Owen and “The Pink Opaque.”
In a new interview with USA Today, Schoenbrun refused to rule out the possibility of making a sequel to “I Saw the TV Glow,” explaining that they’d be open to approaching the story again from a different perspective.
“I’ve been thinking about it for quite a while. I always ask myself, ‘Where do the characters go? Is there anywhere else after this?’” Schoenbrun said. “Sometimes there’s not an answer that deserves further exploration, but I do think there is something about this particular movie that needs a yang to its yin. I don’t think it’s something people will be expecting, but it will be something that’s very much in the same world, from the other side of a looking glass.”
Schoenbrun didn’t share specific plot details about their sequel idea, but noted that it would have to star Justice Smith and Brigette Lundy-Paine reprising their roles from the original film.
“I Saw the TV Glow” follows Smith’s character Owen from childhood (when he’s played by Ian Foreman) deep into middle age, and Schoenbrun has cited “Twin Peaks: The Return as an influence on the film’s depiction of the aging process. When asked about their timeline for making a sequel, the filmmaker appeared to make a quip about the quarter century gap that preceded David Lynch’s seminal limited series.
“In a few years, not 25 years, and only if everyone else wants to do it, too,” they said. “I have quietly talked to Justice and Brigette about it, so there is definitely another side of the prism I’d like to glance through.”
