Last year’s espionage thriller Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy was not just one of the best spy movies to hit cinemas in a long time (and I include Skyfall in that appraisal); it was also one of Gary Oldman’s finest performances. Thankfully, now there’s talk of bringing back George Smiley and the gang for another installment of espionage a la Le Carre and I couldn’t be happier.
Producer Eric Fellner revealed to Collider (via The Film Stage) that producing partner Tim Bevan is working with Tinker Tailor director Tomas Alfredson to bring back Smiley and Co. for another round:
“We are working on another one. Tim Bevan is putting it together as we speak with [writer] Peter Straughan and Tomas Alfredson, so yes it’s in development.”
Gary Oldman has already expressed interest in coming back as George Smiley, which is really the first requirement for any sequel. I can’t think of another actor – other than the late Alec Guinness – who could pull off the combination of quiet menace and grandfatherly wisdom that Oldman did in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.
While Oldman has mentioned Smiley’s People as the possible sequel, the next book in Le Carre’s series is The Honourable Schoolboy, a 70s thriller set in Hong Kong as Smiley pursues his constant nemesis and Russian counterpart Karla. Smiley’s People has name recognition – Alec Guinness also appeared in the mini-series version in the 1980s – but it would be nice to see Alfredson et al cover the books in order, not least because it would mean at least one more Smiley film after this one.
It’s early days yet on the Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy sequel though. Alfredson recently signed to adapt the fantasy novel The Brothers Lionheart and Fellner is cagey about when the script for the sequel will be ready. If they can get the same cast back, including Benedict Cumberbatch as Smiley’s right-hand Peter Guillam, I would be up for another installment.
So, what do you think? Should Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy stand on its own, or can we handle another shadowy thriller in the British rain? Let us know in the comments below.
