The history of Netflix's canceled shows is mostly negative. Series get capped before their fans (and often cast and crew) were ready. Fortunately, one such series is getting a second chance — and reminding fans of other canceled shows that Netflix could give their favorites another breath of life.
It's The Last Kingdom, a series that adapts Bernard Cornwell's Saxon Stories for the small screen (which originally ran on BBC2 before moving to Netflix for its third season). EW reports that its adaptation to a movie titled Seven Kings Must Die was announced at London MCM Comic-Con by Alexander Dreymon, the show's star and executive producer.
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Dreymon thanked the fans of the series, who he said were responsible for its resurrection — saying, "It's been such a privilege to tell Uhtred's story for five seasons. I'm so grateful to our fans. They have been immensely loyal to The Last Kingdom and thanks to their support, the team is getting together for another round."
The series, which has yet to broadcast its fifth and final season, looks to wrap everything up, which is all that fans and creators seem to want.
The folks behind The Last Kingdom will start working on Seven Kings Must Die around the time that season 5 airs, which is said to be in early 2022. Interestingly enough, producer Nigel Merchant claims that season 5 will "fully conclude the series," which makes it sound like the movie is an ancillary story.
And that is not the case with other Netflix shows that could have gotten a movie.
Analysis: A way for Netflix to mend (some) fences
Netflix's long had fans upset with it over the premature cancelation of shows, which led people to think Netflix had a thing for ending series after three seasons.
This option doesn't seem to be one that the big red streaming machine likes. Netflix doesn’t do this that often — Sense8 is one of the more notable examples of this happening — but it’s a practice we’ve seen elsewhere. Veronica Mars got a movie via Kickstarter before its Hulu revival, and Firefly and Deadwood are two of the biggest examples that come to mind.
But then we remember Dash and Lily (dashed after its first season) and GLOW, which Netflix canceled after it renewed it (meaning season 4 was announced and then canceled). It seems like Netflix could definitely use this strategy a bit more often to let shows see a proper ending.
That said, this wouldn't be a cure for all of Netflix's current issues, as its handling of the recent Dave Chappelle scandal has landed it in seriously hot waters.
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