Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy sequel with Gary Oldman halted due to 'unexpected issue'

The film featured a number of other major stars including Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hardy, Stephen Graham, Toby Jones and Kathy Burke, becoming a commercial success by quadrupling its production budget at the box office.

It also secured three Academy Award nominations and 12 BAFTA nods (winning three), while Le Carré himself gave the film a resounding thumbs up in an email to Oldman shared posthumously.

However, in an interview with Radio Times magazine, Oldman's manager and frequent producing partner Douglas Urbanski revealed that a sequel adapting 1979 novel Smiley's People was blocked after the rights reverted to Le Carré's estate.

"That’s an odd story. I’ll never know the mystery," began Urbanski. "We loved Tinker and we started to do prep for Gary to do Smiley’s People, and suddenly there was an unexpected rights issue.

"We've reached out, including again recently, to Le Carré’s sons and — the damnedest thing — they have no interest in Gary playing Smiley again. I don’t know why."

Back in 2021, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy director Tomas Alfredson told RadioTimes.com that he had heard the Le Carré estate was working on a "big relaunch" of the character for television, but doubted he or Oldman would be involved.

Fans of the the actor's take can perhaps find comfort in Apple TV+ espionage thriller Slow Horses, with Urbanski stating that "season 2 is very Tinker-ish".

But admittedly, Jackson Lamb (Oldman) is a far cry from Smiley in many ways.

Pick up the latest issue of Radio Times magazine for more from the creatives behind Slow Horses and other television stars.

Slow Horses season 4 premieres on Apple TV+ on Wednesday 4th September 2024.

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