‘365 Days’: Controversial Movie to Get Two Sequels at Netflix

365 Days Screenshot
Netflix/YouTube

The controversial but extremely popular movie 365 Days will be returning to Netflix with not one but two sequels!

Michele Morrone and Anna-Maria Sieklucka will reprise their lead roles in the Polish erotic movie, based on a trilogy of books from author Blanka Lipinska. Magdalena Lamparska and Otar Saralidze, who featured in the original, will also return, while model and actor Simone Susinna is a newcomer to the cast. Barbara Białowąs and Tomasz Mandes will once again direct.

The story revolves around a young Polish woman who is kidnapped by a Sicilian gangster and given one year to fall in love with him. This sparked some backlash upon the film’s initial release, with critics saying that it romanticized sexual assault, domestic violence and kidnapping — a petition for Netflix to remove the title for its streaming platform attracted over 95,000 signatures.

However, many others enjoyed the movie, which landed in Netflix’s daily Top 10 most-watched lists in more than 90 countries, and, according to the streamer, was the fourth most-searched movie on Google around the world in 2020.

Unlike the first 365 Days, which was already completed when Netflix acquired the rights, the sequels will be made in-house, which could mean a more cautious approach to the subject matter. While the new movies are based somewhat on plot details from Lipinska’s follow-up novels, Deadline states that “the plot is likely to deviate from those texts and some of the potentially controversial content could be softened.”

365 Days was one of our most popular films for our members in 2020,” said Netflix’s Łukasz Kluskiewicz. “We’re working closely with Blanka Lipinska, the author of the 365 Days trilogy of books and writer of the film, to continue Laura and Massimo’s story on screen. Their journey together is full of many twists and turns as our characters continue to grow and learn more about themselves.”

Lipinska added: “I’m hugely honored that the remaining two parts of my 365 Days trilogy — This Day and Next 365 Days — will be brought to life on screen by Netflix. I’m so excited to show fans of my novels all over the world this fresh look at the characters and to continue Laura and Massimo’s story.”