“Moon” is a film that rewards repeat viewings, revealing intricate details with each watch. While the movie leaves Sam’s ultimate fate open-ended, fans were offered a glimpse into his continuing story nearly a decade later. In 2018, Netflix released “Mute,” a secret sequel directed and co-written by Duncan Jones. This film follows Leo, a mute bartender portrayed by Alexander Skarsgård, on a quest through futuristic Berlin’s seedy underbelly to find his missing girlfriend, Naadirah. Within “Mute,” a clever nod to “Moon” appears—a bar TV displays footage from a court trial involving Sam Bell and the corporation that cloned and stranded him on the moon. This scene not only serves as a delightful Easter egg for “Moon” enthusiasts but also marks the midpoint in a sci-fi trilogy that Jones has passionately crafted over many years.

The allure of “Moon” lies in its gripping storyline, minimalist aesthetic, and Rockwell’s remarkable dual performance. Critics have widely praised the film, which holds a remarkable 90% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Such acclaim positions “Moon” as a standout in the science fiction genre. However, its spiritual successor, “Mute,” did not fare as well.

Despite the creative freedom offered by Netflix, Jones’s ambitious vision for “Mute” struggled to achieve the same coherence and impact as its predecessor. This disconnect is reflected in its reception, with “Mute” receiving a disappointing 20% approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes and an underwhelming 47% audience score. The film’s reception, though less favorable, remains a testament to the challenges of crafting an ambitious narrative that lives up to the high standards set by “Moon.”

From its thrilling story and its stripped down visuals to Sam Rockwell’s incredible performance(s), there’s a lot to love about “Moon.” The majority of critics agree: The film boasts an impressive 90% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It’s pretty easy to argue that “Moon” is one of the best sci-fi movies of all time, but the sleeper sequel “Mute,” on the other hand, isn’t so well-regarded.

Working with Netflix, writer-director Duncan Jones was able to make a larger, more ambitious sci-fi flick, but the pieces didn’t come together nearly as cleanly as they did in his lunar-based mystery, and that was reflected in the response to the film. “Mute” has a rather damning 20% critical approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and the audience score isn’t anything to shout about either at just 47%.

As interesting as the nods to “Moon” may be for fans of that film, “Mute” sadly doesn’t live up to its predecessor on any level. As the Critics Consensus on Rotten Tomatoes reads, this is “a would-be sci-fi epic whose title serves as an unfortunate guide to how it might be best enjoyed.” Thankfully, the ending of “Mute” is really just the end of the second act in Duncan’s sci-fi yarn.

What’s interesting is that Duncan Jones actually wrote the screenplay for “Mute” before he penned “Moon,” but it just so happened that the latter required less of a budget to get off the ground. However, he never really imagined them as part of a series of films in the traditional sense. Over time, he realized that the themes were similar and that it made sense to set them in the same world, even if they’re only loosely connected. When he spoke to Polygon in 2019, Jones revealed that he had an idea for a third film that would cap this loose trilogy.

“The broader universe was really just a fun element to add to what was really three films that were more of an anthology than any kind of sequel,” he said. “They cover similar subject matter — autonomy, parenting, the kinds of things that interest me — and it made sense that they would all take place within the same future, which I really enjoyed writing about.” That film has yet to see the light of day, though the story is now out there in graphic novel form. With the help of a Kickstarter campaign that brought in over $366,000, Jones created “Madi: Once Upon a Time in the Future.”

Published in November 2020, “Madi” follows Madi Preston, a deeply-in-debt mercenary who takes on one last job only to discover she’s been hired to kidnap a child who’s anything but ordinary. Thanks to the medium, it has a visual flare that’s even more impressive than anything Jones managed to capture on camera. Jones was able to bring in Eisner-nominated writer Alex de Campi and renowned artists such as Glenn Fabry, Simon Bisley, Duncan Fegredo and Pia Guerra, whose combined work made for a stunning read.