Is Netflix’s ‘The School For Good and Evil’ Worthy of a Sequel?

Netflix has really been pushing the fantasy genre for the last few years. One of its better titles is 2022’s The School for Good and Evil. It had a stellar cast and a decent premise, but despite this failed to make any real impact. It ended on a cliffhanger, with Sophie and Agatha called back to the world of fairytales to aid the princes, but will a sequel ever appear?

The School for Good and Evil followed the friendship of Sophie (Sophia Anne Caruso) and Agatha (Sofia Wylie), two outsiders in their town. Sophie wishes to grow up a princess, whilst Agatha simply wants to exist without being called a witch and having her life threatened. The two support and help one another, until Sophie learns about a magic school that trains the princess, heroes, and villains found in the pages of fairytales. She wishes to enlist in the school, and, when her wish is granted, Agatha ends up along for the rise, though neither end up where the expect.

The film had a great director in Paul Feig (Bridesmaids, Spy) as well as phenomenal cast. Caruso and Wylie were joined by Hollywood heavyweights Charlize Theron, Kerry Washington, and Michelle Yeoh, with Cate Blanchett as narrator. Despite these super talents, it felt more like a Disney film with a larger budget. It had many cringe moments including “sassy” look-at-me entrances to Billie Eilish’s “You Should See Me in a Crown,” makeover montages, and jokes that just don’t land. Reviews for the film were not favorable; it holds a 37% rating among critics on Rotten Tomatoes.

Despite this, The School for Good and Evil did manage to land on Netflix’s top 10 list in its first week and stayed there for four weeks. Was this enough to greenlight a sequel though?

Will there be a sequel?

The School for Good and Evil was adapted from Soman Chainani’s internationally best-selling series, and there is plenty more source material to create a franchise. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Feig confirmed that “The goal is definitely for this to be a franchise.” You could see that was his plan all along given that the film ends with Agatha receiving an arrow with a note from Tedros that reads “I need you Agatha” accompanied by Blanchett as the Storian saying, “This was only the beginning.”

Despite this, no sequel has yet been announced. It isn’t that shocking considering the critical panning the film underwent after its release, and the fact it dropped off the top 10 after only four weeks (Netflix has canceled entire series for less). The viewership figures weren’t that bad though, it could be enough for the franchise to crawl back onto the streaming platform. The source material has a strong following, and if they were to correct some (many) of the mistakes they made with the first film, it could be worth another look, a chance at redemption.

We won’t know anything until Netflix gives us an update on the film’s future. Perhaps this is one story that has already had its ending.