Entertainment

'Anne Of Green Gables' PBS Sequels Are Possible

by Kayla Hawkins

PBS has cornered the market on well-produced, thoughtful period pieces, so it's no surprise that they're behind a new adaptation of L.M. Montgomery's novel Anne of Green Gables. Will PBS make another Anne of Green Gables movie after Thursday's, though? The story continues past the first book to include Anne's late teen years and even her adulthood. Like many coming of age stories, a childhood acquaintance becomes a love interest, and even Anne's most ardent passions — and her hair color — soften with age. Seeing the character grow up and into adulthood, and how her adopted parents go from awkward guardians to a close-knit family, really completes the story, so as much as the PBS film is likely wonderful, it would be even better if the series checked back in with more entries that followed Anne, the Cuthbert siblings, and Diana as they age.

Here's the only problem. PBS acquired the film from a Canadian production company, they didn't make it themselves, so it's a little more complicated. Hopefully, they have no problem with connecting with that production company again, because Martin Sheen, who's the biggest star who appears in the project, tells Entertainment Weekly that the cast has already filmed two sequels to Anne of Green Gables , and now it's just up to PBS to decide if, how, and when they air them. "I just got back from filming the second and third one with the same cast. I’m a little older and a little more frail and the little girl’s grown up a little bit and Marilla’s gotten a little older and we’re all back to square one, which is wonderful."

If you're not familiar with the series of books, some of Sheen's following comments may count as SPOILERS, so beware. Because he mentions that while filming, he got to the point where Matthew dies in the third book. "Unless I came back as a ghost or in a flashback, I won’t be required. I had a wonderful funeral. I enjoyed my funeral. I don’t know. I wouldn’t be able to be a part of it, unfortunately, but I don’t know."

So not only are there more films out there, they also follow more of the books in Montgomery's nine-entry series. And, keep in mind that there's also an Anne of Green Gables of project coming to Netflix in 2017. Hopefully PBS decides to follow the trend and air the next two Canadian films soon.

Image: Courtesy of Breakthrough Entertainment