A crossover with ‘Sandman’ could even be considered. “The series has many stories left to tell…”
Spoilers for ‘Locke & Key’ below.
The transition of ‘Locke & Key’ from the pages of the comic to the catalog of Netflix series has been quite a journey. Specifically, a 12-year journey. It is not surprising then that the Showrunner Carlton Cuse described it as a “long odyssey” when the first season first arrived on Netflix.
But here we are, finally at the end of that journey with the release of the third season of ‘Locke and Key’ and its final episodes… Or is it?
In April 2022, Netflix announced that lThe third season of this program would be the lastbut as fans of the franchise know, one of the best adaptations of Joe Hill, there is still a lot of potential to be unlocked here. With that in mind, join us as we take a closer look at the cancellation and what the future might hold for ‘Locke & Key’ on screen beyond this.
Why ‘Locke & Key Was Canceled
According to dead line, the success of the first season of Locke & Key inspired Netflix to start planning for a second and third season immediately after. Fortunately, this also seemed to align with the overview co-showrunners Carlton Cuse and Meredith Averill had for the show anyway, which means this story actually ended naturally on its own terms.
A rare thing, indeed. Especially on Netflix.
However, the platform didn’t actually reveal any of this until they shared a sneak peek of the “third and final season” via social media on April 6, 2022.
That day, Cuse and Averill They also shared their own statement about the show’s ending, writing:
“Once we started working on the series, we felt that three seasons was the ideal length. to bring the story of the Locke family and their Keyhouse adventures to a satisfying conclusion.
“As storytellers, We are grateful to have had the opportunity to tell our version of the incredible story of Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez exactly as we wanted.. However, we keep the magic keys for our own personal use.”
At a time when more and more Netflix shows are canceled prematurely (*cough* ‘The first death’ *cough*), it’s extremely gratifying for ‘Locke & Key’ to see that this particular story had room to end the way it was always supposed to.
However, it is worth noting that in November 2021, Cuse and Averill mentioned possible plans to continue Locke & Key for a fourth seasonand maybe even beyond that.
In response to questions about season four, Averill told GWW:
“I think that’s a question for Netflix. We’d love to do many, many seasons of the show.. We love the program. The show has a lot of stories to tell, so I think that’s really a question for them.”
Now, this seems to contradict Deadline’s information about the cancellation that came out six months later. The creators of ‘Locke & Key’ they changed their minds during that time or were just struggling with secrecy answering this question? Without our own magical keys to guide us, it seems we’ll probably never know.
Will there be a ‘Locke & Key’ spin-off movie?
Given the time it took for that first trip from page to screen, a ‘Locke & Key’ movie seems unlikely at the moment. Season four also feels like a distant dream when you consider how the story ends in the final episode of season three.
However, there is plenty of source material to draw from if plans to continue or even restart the story on screen come to fruition.
And then of course there’s also ‘Sandman’. In 2021, IDW Publishing partnered with DC to create a crossover between these two properties titled ‘Locke & Key/Sandman: Hell and Gone’.
Created by Joe Hill and artist Gabriel Rodriguez (with the blessing of Neil Gaiman) ‘Hell and Gone’ connects one of Locke’s ancestors to Roderick Burgessthe man who kept Morpheus prisoner for most of the 20th century.
While a full on-screen crossover may not be possible, the season one finale of ‘Sandman’ included a surprising number of links to the DC Universe wider, so it wouldn’t be too hard to sneak some ‘Locke and Key’ Easter eggs into a possible ‘Sandman’ season 2.
During an interview with Entertainment Weekly Regarding the original crossover, Rodriguez joked that his and Hill’s season two cameos should also expand to their own series:
“One of the things that the TV creators did, especially in the season finale, was find their own way to do the same things we did in the comic, but in a completely different way. In addition to giving it a new life, it gives the people who read the comic new surprises. The other thing he did was introduce the two greatest paramedics ever seen on screen. People are crying out for them to get their own spin-off series!”
That’s not going to happen any time soon, but when it comes to ‘Locke & Key on screen’, never say Never to a different kind of spin-off or reboot in movie form.
As noted by IDW editor Chris Ryall (via Bleeding Cool): “It’s amazing how Joe and Gabriel continue to find new ways to expand the reach and breadth of Locke & Key..”
So as the franchise continues to expand, we think it’s only a matter of time before ‘Locke & Key’ returns to us in a new incarnation.
Source: Fotogramas
Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.