Diksha Sundriyal
‘The Coldest Game’ is a spy drama that follows the story of Joshua Mansky, a genius mathematician who finds himself in the middle of a highly sensitive mission that requires him to play a chess game. Starring Bill Pullman in the lead role, it is co-written and directed by Łukasz Kośmicki. Following its release in Gdynia Film Festival, it received moderate to positive reviews with the praise directed towards Pullman’s performance. Internationally, the film was released on Netflix. (You can read our review of ‘The Coldest Game’ here.)
Of all the spy films that have a franchise of their own, there is none that focuses completely on the raw world of espionage. Instead, we get action movies with a lot of stunts. ‘The Coldest Game’ gives us a glimpse into the kind of stories that we really want to see. Because the lead character, Mansky, is still alive at the end, his story could very well be taken forward (or perhaps, backward) exploring more of his work on secret projects.
While the film was conceived as a standalone, we can’t deny the sheer possibilities it promises for the future. Even though it is too early to tell whether or not we’ll have ‘The Coldest Game 2’, we can entertain the idea and see where the story can take its characters. Let’s explore our options.
The Coldest Game 2 Plot: What can it be about?
There are a lot of options when it comes to creating a follow-up for espionage flicks. The sequel could throw Mansky in another mission that demands his genius and daring to save the country. General Krutov had promised Mansky that he would come after him, and he looks like someone who keeps his word. They might cross paths again if Mansky is to take another dive into the world of spies.
Another possibility suggests a completely different turn for the story. What if, instead of going forward, we take things back in the past. The title of the film is “The Coldest Game”, so any follow-up should be set during the Cold War. After the resolution of the Cuban Missile Crisis, things started to calm down slowly and steadily. To keep the excitement high for the sequel, it should be set in a time when tensions are rising. Dial the clock a few years back and you’ll have that.
While most of the things make sense in the film, there is one mystery that isn’t resolved. Why did Agent Stone defect to the Soviets? What drove her away and made her conspire with the enemy? This is also a promising premise and could allow Lotte Verbeek to return, this time in the lead role.
The Coldest Game 2 Cast: Who can be in it?
If ‘The Coldest Game’ were to return, the cast would depend on the direction it chooses to take. We could see Bill Pullman returning to reprise his role as Joshua Mansky if the sequel takes his character on another mission that may or may not involve chess. Aleksey Serebryakov could also come back to play the intimidating General Krutov, with Corey Johnson playing Mansky’s ally, Donald Novak.
If the next film in the series chooses to be a prequel, rather than a sequel, we also expect Lotte Verbeek and James Bloor to return as Agent Stone and Agent White. If Warsaw is repeated as the setting, we could also have Robert Więckiewicz as Alfred. In any other case, a completely different cast would dominate the story, with some familiar faces in the background.
The Coldest Game 2 Release Date: When can it premiere?
‘The Coldest Game’ released on Netflix on February 8, 2020. By far, Netflix has not released any official word regarding the sequel. However, it is still too early to make any decision as the streaming service generally depends on the response of the viewers to greenlight a sequel. If they do go forward with it, we expect ‘The Coldest Game 2’ to release sometime in 2023 or later.
