Normal People star Paul Mescal shares thoughts on series 2
The Irish actor said it would be "amazing" to play Connell once more *CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR NORMAL PEOPLE**
Loved Normal People, but want to know more about what happened after the events of the TV show and Sally Rooney book? Connell actor Paul Mescal has some very interesting thoughts on his character’s future.
While the BBC Three Dublin-set adaptation ended ambiguously (spoiler alert) – with Connell leaving lover Marianne for a writing course in New York – Mescal has suggested there’s more to the story.
Speaking to Wonderland about the possibility of a second series, he said, “There’s no question that character to me is still alive and breathing and very much has a lot of life left to live, and has a relationship with Marianne that is maybe unfinished.”
But he also added: “I do feel like the series that has finished is its own thing, and I’m totally comfortable with that. It’s not on the cards at the moment, but if I got the opportunity to play him again, amazing.”
Speaking further about the series one cliffhanger, Mescal commented: “The romantic in me is like why doesn’t she just tell him to stay? Or why doesn’t she come over to New York? But it doesn’t make sense in the reality of those two characters’ lives.
“I think ultimately if they did decide to stay together at that moment, it would be way more disappointing than the reality of the ending.”
It’s not just Mescal that would be keen for a second run. Asked by RadioTimes.com if he could imagine a Normal People series two, director Lenny Abrahamson said he hopes to revisit the characters in “10 years time”.
“I have a fantasy of doing a kind of 10 year - seeing where they are in 10 years time sort of thing, if I’m not too decrepit at that point,” he said.
Fortunately for fans, the BBC has announced Conversations with Friends, an adaptation of the debut novel by Normal People writer Sally Rooney, is in development.
“It’s the same basic team,” co-producer Ed Guiney explained to us. “Lenny [Abrahamson] is going to direct it and is across it as an executive producer. And Alice Birch and all of us at Element [Pictures]. So that’s what we’ll be turning our attention to next. But maybe down the line we’ll come back to Connell and Marianne.”
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