Eli, a Netflix original movie, was an overnight sensation that had audiences buzzing and fans are already speculating about a potential sequel.
Directed by Ciarán Foy (Sinister 2), the film starred Charlie Shotwell as the titular character and featured a supporting cast from Sadie Sink (Stranger Things), Kelly Reilly (Sherlock Holmes), Max Martini (Pacific Rim), and Lili Taylor (The Conjuring). Eli is about a young boy who has some form of rare autoimmune disease. Because of his illness, he is forced to wear a haz-mat suit whenever he ventures outdoors and requires a completely sterile environment at all times. His parents (Martini and Reilly), who are struggling through marital troubles, have put their life savings on the line to take Eli to the mysterious Dr. Horn (Taylor) who reportedly has a cure.
After Eli checks into the large, Victorian-style home where he's meant to stay with his family during the experimental treatments from Dr. Horn, he starts to see ghosts and other horrific specters, all of whom seem to come equipped with a warning. As he begins to investigate, Eli discovers that this treatment may not be in Eli's best interest, and may in fact be something far more sinister. While he's staying in the home, he ends up befriending Haley (Sink), a girl around his age who frequently visits the house to see him even though she says, explicitly, that Dr. Horn doesn't like having her around.
Eventually, Eli discovers that Dr. Horn's cure is meant to be an exorcism to remove his birthright: his demonic half that he inherited from his father, the Devil. His mother had an affair with the Devil himself in order to have a child. All the other patients - the ones who didn't survive the treatments - are revealed to be Eli's half-siblings and Haley turns out to be his half-sister, who promises she can take him to Hell to meet their father.
Netflix Hasn’t Announced Any Plans For Eli 2
Given the success of the first film, it seems more than likely that it will get a sequel. Currently, Netflix hasn't made an official announcement about a sequel to Eli, but it's relatively early given that the film released in October of 2019. Sequels are rather commonplace these days, so there's hope for another film that could take audiences deeper into Foy's unique take on demonic lore.
When Eli 2 Could Release If It’s Greenlit
If Eli is green-lit for a sequel, audiences could expect to see it within the next couple years. Netflix keeps a pretty packed roster of original releases, and seems to put out new films rather quickly, so it's possible we could see a sequel hitting the streaming giant's library in 2021 or 2022 at the latest.
What Eli 2's Story Could Be
There are multiple directions a sequel to Eli could take. The ending suggested that Eli, his half-sister, and mother were all heading to Hell to meet his father. It has been a while since the Devil has been played well in film, so making him a central character in the sequel could be an interesting angle. Since Rose survived the events at the house and seems determined to care for her son even though he's fully embraced his demonic powers and heritage, audiences could see her square off with Eli's father, especially since he tricked her and promised her son would be normal.
Haley mentioned that all the other children at Dr. Horn's facility were like them, which implies that Eli and Haley have many half-siblings; if some of them are living with their father - or even roaming the earth - that could be a unique area to explore as well. There are also a few unanswered questions from the first one, including why Eli was so ill whenever he was exposed to the outside air, and those loose ends could be tied up and explored further.
Eli has tons of potential for an interesting follow-up film, and while it may not spin into a full-fledged franchise, there's enough material for at least one more solid film.