A large number of loose ends would have to be tied up at once if Manifest receives a two-hour movie. After the airing of the season 3 finale, NBC abruptly cancelled the series, but talk of the show continuing in some form has yet to cease. One idea that’s being floated is Manifest properly ending with a movie.
Coinciding with the cancellation of Manifest was its success on Netflix. Just as the show ended, its first two seasons released on the streaming platform. Surprisingly, it didn’t take long at all for the series to rise to #1 in viewership. Its impressive ability to hold this spot for several days has led to increased speculation that the show could soon be saved. NBC could reverse its decision, feeling that the interest it generated on Netflix would justify bringing it back. Alternatively, Netflix - which already passed on picking it up - could change its mind after evaluating its recent performance.
While a fourth season isn’t impossible, a Manifest movie being ordered into development feels like a more feasible scenario for the show to get an ending. Manifest showrunner Jeff Rake has said that he’s already working out a two-hour movie that could hopefully be greenlit by NBC or one of the streaming platforms. Considering that Rake had plans for three more seasons, a two-hour finale event to end the story would certainly have a great deal of material to cover. After all, there’s quite a lot that the main characters have yet to understand.
Where Do Manifest's Callings Come From?
One of Manifest’s greatest mysteries relates to the Callings received by the Flight 828 passengers and the other characters connected by this phenomenon. Since the beginning of the series, they’ve been receptive to shared, mysterious messages. Looking at everything that’s happened so far, it seems that the purpose of them is to guide the passengers toward helping people in need, but what they don’t know is where they originate from. Characters like Michaela (Melissa Roxburgh) have assumed at one point or another that the Callings may be divine in nature, meaning that God could be the one responsible for them. Though there are several Biblical connections in the show, there’s no sold proof yet that the Callings have a spiritual origin.
Were The Manifest Passengers Really Resurrected?
Since returning, the passengers have been determined to figure out what happened to the plane on the night of its disappearance. In the season 3 premiere, Ben (Josh Dallas) thought he had stumbled on the answer. Finding the tailfin of the plane in the ocean even though the returned plane was destroyed on land caused Ben to theorize that the plane and everyone on board died in the storm, but was resurrected five years later. The meth addicts drowning and then floating to the surface alive added further evidence to Ben’s theory. Ben seems to have accepted that this is what transpired that night, but it’s not a confirmed explanation.
In season 2, it was strongly implied that time travel – and not resurrection – was the real answer to this mystery. The crew of a 16th century ship led by a man named Al-Zuras supposedly had the same experience as the passengers. A Calling revealed that Al-Zuras somehow saw Flight 828 during a storm, thus giving the implication that Flight 828 and Al-Zuras briefly existed at the same time and place. This might mean that one or both parties traveled in time. It’s possible that instead of being dead for five years before being bought to life, Flight 828 and its passengers were actually traveling through the timestream.
What Is The Purpose of Zeke’s New Powers?
After losing the Callings, Zeke (Matt Long) developed empathetic powers that enable him to feel other people’s emotions. Since then, he’s used them to resolve conflicts. It appears that Zeke acquiring powers that are different to the passengers’ can be explained by the fact that he’s the only character to get past the Death Date. It may be that having this power is the reward for following the Callings and surviving, but no one knows for sure yet. It may be that even though Zeke did what he was supposed to do, the Callings or whoever it is that sends them has another use for him.
How Will The Passengers Save The Lifeboat?
Due to the deaths of Jace, Kory, and Pete, the passengers have reached a level of understanding about what must be done in order to survive beyond June 2, 2024, which is their given Death Date. Kory and Pete dying because Jace failed the test provided by the Callings means that the fates of all the passengers hinge on each other’s actions. If one doesn’t make the right choice when the time comes, all of them could pay the price for that mistake. Presumably, this ultimate test from the Callings would have come on or near that date. If the show had run its intended course, these events likely would have played out in the series finale at the end of season 6, but now it may have to happen in a movie. If so, the passengers may be forced to “save the lifeboat” three years early. The Callings could offer one last test for them to pass.
Where Did Cal Go In The Manifest Season 3 Finale?
After touching the tailfin in the season 3 finale, Cal (Jack Messina) vanished and didn’t return until the end of the episode. Played by Ty Doran, Cal came back as a 17-year-old, which was the same age he would have been had the plane not disappeared. Now, Cal claims to have the knowledge needed to get through the trials ahead. Where he went in order to get this information wasn’t explored, but this scene gave the impression that when Cal touched the tailfin, he was taken somewhere in time, where he remained for five years before returning to his proper place in the timeline. If the show were to have continued, it makes sense that Cal would have gotten a chance to reunite with his father and explain his previous whereabouts in the season 4 premiere.
What Happened To Captain Daly?
To prove that he wasn’t responsible for Flight 828’s disappearance, Captain Bill Daly (Frank Deal) hijacked another plane and used it to repeat the conditions that led to the original incident. His subsequent vanishing left his fate up in the air until the final scene of the season 3 finale. At Eureka, Captain Daly briefly reappeared in the cockpit, before disappearing again. Earlier, it was thought that he would be gone for five years just like the passengers, but it looks like he’s experiencing something very different to what they went through. It may be that he’s traveling through time somehow. If Manifest does get a movie, the character needs to return once more so that this mystery can be solved at last.