Brit Marling Hopes to Revisit ‘The OA’: ‘We Think About That Story All the Time’

Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij haven’t let go of “The OA,” the cult hit Netflix series they created that was canceled prematurely after two seasons.

The thriller series starred Marling as Prairie Johnson, a woman who resurfaces after seven years claiming to have been lost in another dimension and now boasting unique abilities. Though she and Batmanglij had planned for a five-season arc for the international sensation, Netflix chose to end the series on a cliffhanger in 2019 following the release of Season 2.

Almost five years later, Marling says she and Batmanglij have not closed the door on revisiting the story when the time is right.

“I guess it’s a question of whether the climate and circumstances in the world reach a place where it can bloom, but of course we think about that story all the time,” Marling told TheWrap. “It was its own world, and of course [we cherished] the fan response to the show. The artworks they’ve made, the protests that they’ve done … it’s been inspiring for us to continue as storytellers in general, knowing there’s an audience for an outsider perspective.”

“I’ll be sitting next to Brit, who is the OA so you’ll have people come out of the woodwork, and it’s all sorts of different people from different backgrounds,” Batmanglij added. “That’s really exciting because you’re like, ‘Oh, you can tell something original and it can hit people who don’t even speak the same language as you, who don’t have anything in common with you other than we’re humans on Earth at this time. That makes you want to tell more stories.”

The filmmaking duo looked back on the show’s influence while celebrating the launch of their latest TV project, the Emma Corrin-led FX limited series “A Murder at the End of the World.” The new series holds much of the DNA of Marling and Batmanglij’s previous project, mixing thriller, sci-fi and mystery elements into a commentary on the digital age.

The decision to approach the story as a straightforward whodunnit was inspired by the uncertainty of the modern era.

“It was 2019 and everything felt like it was unraveling or falling into chaos. So we were wondering who’s done this? We thought the whodunit would be a natural fit [for this project],” Batmanglij said. “We did some research on [the genre] and it turns out it gained popularity between the first and the second World War, which was also a time of a lot of unrest and confusion. We figured it would grow in popularity, as we are all trying to figure out what’s going on [in the world.] And sure enough, this is true.”

“A Murder at the End of the World” is available to stream on Hulu. New episodes premiere Tuesdays through Dec. 19.

“The OA” is available to stream on Netflix.

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