The Thursday Murder Club is Netflix’s newest mystery, and audiences who have already devoured the excellent film have turned their attention to what might happen in a sequel. While no sequel has officially been greenlit yet, it is clear that Netflix hopes for a new franchise from The Thursday Murder Club, and news is sure to follow shortly.
The Thursday Murder Club‘s cast of characters introduces audiences to Elizabeth, Ron, Ibrahim, and Joyce, four retirees who live at Cooper’s Chase, a retirement home in England. On Thursdays, the group gathers to break down and investigate cold cases, with each bringing a special skill of their own to the discussion.
While the ending of The Thursday Murder Club gives great closure to all of the characters, there is still more story to tell. Richard Osman has released four novels about these characters, with a fifth installment coming later this year. Attention is now being directed to The Man Who Died Twice, the next novel in the popular series.
The Man Who Died Twice’s Story Explained
The Man Who Died Twice is the second book in the Thursday Murder Club series, and sees the return of the beloved quartet of heroes as they become embroiled in a new mystery. Elizabeth’s past comes back to haunt her as tensions arise, placing the heroes in a much more direct path with criminal activities that could hurt them deeply.
The book begins with Elizabeth receiving a letter, and the story escalates from there. Douglas Middlemiss, a Secret Service agent and, more importantly, Elizabeth’s ex-husband, reaches out for help after becoming entangled in a scheme involving £20 million worth of stolen diamonds. His life is in danger, and the police are unable to help.
The story sees the group becoming mixed up in international intrigue, as New York mobsters and Colombian cartel members are brought in to find the missing diamonds. With Middlemiss’s life in danger, Elizabeth and her cohorts in the Thursday Murder Club take the case upon themselves, hoping to find the diamonds, stop the murders, and save the day.
With a great cast of characters set up, the second book is able to spend more time unfurling a complex, twisty mystery. The second film in the series will likely be able to do the same.
With even greater tension and intrigue, and much more terrifying danger for the heroes, The Man Who Died Twice could be an even more exciting installment in this new Netflix film series.
How A Man Who Died Twice Movie Could Change After The Thursday Murder Club
Notably, The Thursday Murder Club made some significant changes to the Richard Osman novel. Several of these will have small impacts on how the film might differ from the book, including its somewhat varied depiction of Ron, being played by the dapper and charming Pierce Brosnan. There are a few bigger things to consider, however.
Bogdan is likely the biggest hurdle that must be overcome. In the book, Bogdan appears in a supporting role, playing chess with Stephen and helping the group in miscellaneous ways. He becomes an important supporting character to the group over the course of the next books, but the movie has done something to make this difficult.
At the end of The Thursday Murder Club, Bogdan was arrested for Tony Curran’s murder. This was a dark and emotional moment, as Bogdan’s crime was said to be an accident. After being exploited in Tony’s passport scheme, Bogdan went to Tony’s house to confront him and retrieve his passport.
This took a violent turn as Tony resisted. Bogdan wound up killing Tony, but it was not his intention. Bogdan only wanted to retrieve his passport so that he could return home.
While the book did not see him being incarcerated for this, the movie did, which will make Bogdan’s inclusion in the next film challenging. Perhaps, due to the accidental nature of the crime, he will only be on some kind of probation in the next film. Regardless of how this is done, Bogdan is an important part of the cast.
The Man Who Died Twice will have to be approached with knowledge of how these characters are different from the books, but there is certainly room for the next book to be adapted. Patrice de Freitas will likely need to be introduced after being cut from the first film, but this will not be a massive challenge.
The setup for the sequel could also lead to the series adapting the other novels. The Bullet That Missed and The Last Devil to Die are further great installments in the series. Hopefully, Netflix will move forward with multiple sequels to their new mystery.
The Thursday Murder Club is a strong mystery on Netflix, and it is exciting that there are additional novels that could be adapted for the next film in the series. Reviews for the books agree that they only get better with each installment. If that is true for the films as well, audiences are in for a real treat.
