Artemis Fowl spoilers follow.
Artemis Fowl skipped cinemas for a Disney+ release and, given the reviews, that might have been a good thing.
The long-delayed movie adaptation of Eoin Colfer's popular book series centres on the titular tween criminal mastermind. Artemis has to find a precious artefact in order to save the life of his father who's been kidnapped by a fairy.
Related: How to watch Artemis Fowl for FREE on Disney+
While the movie hasn't been a hit with critics, there's every chance that it could prove a success on Disney+ and lead to a sequel, with the movie certainly leaving plenty of mysteries unanswered.
But how does the ending of Artemis Fowl set up a sequel? We're about to go into spoiler territory, so look away now if you haven't seen the movie yet.
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Artemis Fowl ending explained: How does it set up Artemis Fowl 2?
The plot of the movie largely follows the structure of the first book, even if the context has changed somewhat.
Artemis still kidnaps Holly Short, but he's not doing it to get his hands on some gold. He needs to find the Aculos (a Macguffin invented for the movie) because that's what Opal Koboi wants in exchange for Artemis's father.
Because he's a genius, Artemis knows that if he kidnaps Holly, the LEPRecon will send in Mulch Diggums, and the kleptomaniac dwarf will then find the Aculos that is somewhere in Fowl Manor (but Artemis doesn't know where).
Artemis and Holly bond over the fact that their fathers actually worked together to hide the Aculos from Opal because, in the wrong hands, it could spell disaster for the human and fairy worlds.
(The Aculos actually looks a bit like a gold acorn in a nod to the books, where Holly uses an acorn to replenish her magic.)
Disgraced LEPRecon lieutenant Briar Cudgeon, who's working with Opal, tries to kill everyone in Fowl Manor with a troll, but Artemis, Holly, Butler and Mulch manage to fight off the troll and survive.
Holly heals Butler from a fatal injury and then uses the Aculos to help bring Artemis's father back from Opal, because the Aculos acts as a "skeleton key for the universe" and opens portals.
Artemis's father gives Holly a list of Opal's accomplices and after returning the Aculos to Haven City, Commander Root gives Holly the responsibility to investigate all of the names on the list.
Having phoned Opal to say that they're on her trail (assuming she's a female like in the books), the movie ends with Artemis, his father and Butler rescuing Mulch from MI6 as that was part of Artemis's plan too, so that Mulch can warn them to leave Artemis alone.
"And the next time you see the Fowls, be sure to thank them for protecting us all, they keep the peace. Don't ever forget it. That's why Artemis set up my arrest, that's why I'm here. He figured you'd have to believe me," he says.
Holly reunites with the crew and they all head off to "finish this" as the credits roll.
Since we still don't know who Opal is in the movie world, it's likely a sequel will see Artemis and co track Opal down and we'll learn more about the mysterious fairy.
The first movie took the father hostage situation from the second book (although in the book, it was the Russian Mafia), but they could still adapt the other storyline from The Arctic Incident.
That saw Opal team up with Briar (as they do in this movie) to create a goblin rebellion in Haven City, so it'd be nice for the sequel to explore more of Haven City as the movie largely takes place in Fowl Manor.
But since the first movie adjusted elements from the book series, it could be that the sequel is a completely new story, potentially adapting elements from the other books in the series to form the new plot.
Artemis Fowl 2 release date: When will Artemis Fowl 2 be released?
Since Artemis Fowl is not being released in cinemas, it'll be harder to gauge whether it's been a success on Disney+ unless they release viewer figures.
So right now, it's unclear if the adaptation will get a sequel or if it'll join the likes of The Golden Compass in starting a story it won't get to finish.
If it does get a sequel though, it's unlikely we'll see it before 2022 as we can't imagine it'll start filming before next year. There was around a year between the first movie filming and its original release date of August 2019.
Artemis Fowl 2 cast: Who will be in Artemis Fowl 2?
No one was killed off in the first movie (this is a family affair, after all) so we can expect the majority of the main cast to be back.
So that's Ferdia Shaw and Lara McDonnell as Artemis Fowl and Holly Short, respectively, alongside Josh Gad as Mulch Diggums, Nonso Anozie as Butler, Colin Farrell as Artemis's father and Judi Dench as Commander Root.
Other likely returns include Tamara Smart as Juliet Butler (now Butler's niece), Nikesh Patel as Foaly and Joshua McGuire as Briar Cudgeon.
It's not credited who played Opal Koboi in the first movie, so it could be that a character we already know is revealed as the villainous fairy. Some have it as Hong Chau playing Opal, but she was playing a fairy in a scene that was cut from the first movie.
Talking of missing characters, Miranda Raison had been announced as playing Artemis's mother Angeline in the first movie, but she doesn't appear at all, so it could be that she'll be in the sequel.
It would have to be in flashbacks though as one of the movie's changes from the book involved Artemis's mother being dead.
Artemis Fowl 2 trailer: Any footage of Artemis Fowl 2?
Nothing as of yet since the movie hasn't been confirmed, let alone filmed yet.
But you can see deleted scenes from Artemis Fowl right now on Disney+, so that's new footage of a sort.
Artemis Fowl is available to watch on Disney+.
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Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
