Will There Be A Sequel To Netflix's Kate? Here's What We Know

(Welcome to Will There Be a Sequel?, a series where we answer that question and explore what comes next.)

Netflix is endlessly releasing movies, and while there are some gems sprinkles throughout, there's a lot of bad ones too. It can be a little hard to keep up, and with so many releases every week, plenty of stuff just gets lots in the shuffle. One film that did not go unnoticed was 2021's "Kate," an action flick with "Scott Pilgrim vs. The World" leading lady Mary Elizabeth Winstead kicking ass and taking names. For those who enjoyed seeing her in the action flick, the question lingers as to whether or not we're going to get a "Kate" sequel. Let's break down the possibility of Netflix giving us another round.

"Kate" was an original action film released by Netflix in 2021 with Mary Elizabeth Winstead in the lead role. Cedric Nicolas-Troyan ("The Huntsman: Winter's War") was in the director's chair, working from a screenplay by Umair Aleem ("Extraction"). For those who may need a refresher, here's the logline:

After she's poisoned, a ruthless criminal operative has less than 24 hours to exact revenge on her enemies and in the process forms an unexpected bond with the daughter of one of her past victims.

Not to get too spoiler-heavy here, but as mentioned, our lead character was poisoned, and that ultimately ran its course by the movie's conclusion. Kate seemingly succumbed to radiation poisoning and died. But this is a movie we're talking about, and what seems to happen isn't always what really happens. If "Crank 2: High Voltage" can exist, certainly "Kate 2" can as well. Let's not forget that Netflix also has "Extraction 2" is happening, and similarly, Chris Hemsworth's Tyler Rake appeared to die at the end of the first movie. Combine that with the fact that Aleem wrote both of the movies in question, and we've got plenty of sequel potential here.

Whether or not there is a way to explain the survival of Winstead's character remains to be seen. But rather crucially, "Kate 2" would very much depend on her involvement. The good news here is that the actress is very much game to return, assuming there is a way to do so. According to an interview with Hollywood Life from September 2021, when asked whether or not she would be up for a sequel, here's what Winstead had to say:

"Of course. If there's any way, you know, to continue Kate, I would be more than happy to because I had an absolute blast. But who knows?"

So there we have it. At the very least, the actress at the center of this potential franchise is up for a sequel, which would pretty much instantly put arguably the most important piece of the puzzle in place. So the question becomes, will Netflix do it?

Given that Netflix is a streaming service that only very occasionally dabbles in theatrical releases (typically in the limited release range), it all has to do with viewership. More specifically, it's about how much viewership a title generates relative to its cost. That is the big equation when it comes to "Kate 2," and for the moment, it remains a bit nebulous. Part of the problem (arguably the biggest problem) is that Netflix isn't overly transparent when it comes to sharing viewership data. They are extremely selective in that department, so it's tough to say just how many people watched "Kate."

What we know for sure is that "Kate" was in Netflix's top ten when the movie dropped in 2021, indicating that, at least out of the gate, people were interested in checking it out. The good news is that the movie's estimated budget was said to be around $25 million. As far as an action flick for streaming that can generate a healthy audience goes, that's not too expensive, especially when looking at something like "Red Notice," which was in the $200 million range. Though it is worth noting that the movie did incredibly well, ranking as the streamer's most-watched movie ever, with two sequels set to film back-to-back.

The biggest knock against a potential "Kate" sequel is that critics weren't overly kind to the film The movie currently boasts a critical score of 45% on Rotten Tomatoes, and what's worse, the audience rating isn't much better at just 51%. For Netflix's purposes, the audience appeal is far more important than what critics think. Looking at the entire scope of things, it wouldn't be surprising to see a sequel get the green light, but this one could truly go either way. Stay tuned!