Sons of Anarchy fans were dealt some bad news from series creator Kurt Sutter himself. The former showrunner has been fielding fan questions via social media during his self-isolation, and unsurprisingly a number of them have been tied to his original FX biker drama, which ended in 2014 but has remained popular as ever thanks to streaming services like Netflix and Hulu.
At the end of March, one of those fans asked about the odds of seeing Sutter’s proposed SoA prequel, The First Nine. The series would focus on John Teller, the father of Jax (Charlie Hunnam) and the other founding members of the motorcycle club. Despite having floated the idea for the show for a number of years, Sutter admitted that it’s unlikely to happen. “At this time, the prospects are not looking great,” he wrote. “I don’t own the Sons of Anarchy IP, Fox/Disney does. But I never say never.”
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question from Instagram. #sutterthinks pic.twitter.com/NtOHajanRi
โ kurt sutter (@sutterink) March 31, 2020
Given that Disney โ who fired Sutter from the SoA spinoff Mayans M.C. in October โ is now the owner of Sons of Anarchy and its characters, it seems increasingly unlikely a Sutter-approved prequel could see the light of day. It goes without saying that fans who’d been hoping that the show would eventually get made were disappointed. Of course, they took to Twitter to share their feelings.
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Well then Sir they do not own you or your creativity, so they can’t do First Nine either without your writing, cause here is one that will not watch. Only YOU can do the other stories of First 9 and anything to do with Abel and Thomas.
โ Glenda Hickey (@GlendaHickey8) March 31, 2020
โ BenDPB (@BenDPB) March 31, 2020
Sutter had previously spoken about the possibility of The First Nine coming to fruition with Deadline back in October, where he was equally unoptimistic.ย
โ
Bummer. ๐
โ Roman Stefano (@lovetown151) March 31, 2020
Looked fwd to that
more than any other
spin~off.
But I dig the use of
“prospects”. โ๐#SAMCRO4EVER#GottaLookThisLifeInTheEye
God id love to watch that
โ Dude McTavish (@fxnels2) March 31, 2020
“As of now, the possibility of doing that doesn’t look that hopeful,” he said at the time. “It’s their property. They’re not going to let me take it somewhere else. Right now, that relationship is in flux. With time and a shift in attitude, will we be able to do it? I don’t know. Hopefully. Maybe.”
โ
No one (no one) can make that show!!! They will have to ask you to write if they want people to watch it!!!
โ Beyonceโs Left Eyebrow (@SimplyTasha08) March 31, 2020
Man, that does not sit well with me. I cant imagine how that feels for you. ๐
โ Emma J (@EmmaJSteele) April 1, 2020
“As for how far it got, here’s what I knew I wanted to do,” Sutter continued, sharing some details. “I knew it wasn’t a long series, that I wanted to do a limited series. Ideally, it was nine [or] ten episodes.”
โ
You own it where it fuckin matters; you are what made this show incredible ๐ค
โ Carly L (@SOAgirl69) March 31, 2020
The fact that u donโt own the IP of Sons makes me rage-y๐คฌ๐คฌ๐ซ
โ HOPE (@movedtokindness) April 1, 2020
He also professed his love for how Sherlock constructs its seasons. “I love the idea of doing four two-hour episodes. The way I write, the episodes are way longer than they are supposed to be anyway. So that to me would have been ideal.”
โ
But …. we need it… ๐ญ
โ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ข๐๐๐๐ โฏอ (@MsChanandlrBng_) April 1, 2020
Please! That would be an awesome show!
โ negative [Leo] (@negative101) March 31, 2020
“To do four movies basically and tell a story that starts in Vietnam with John Teller and Piney and taking it through the last of the first nine members of the club to show up โ which was Clay,” Sutter went on. “And then ending it there. I didn’t want to fโ with the mythology that we had laid down. I just wanted to tell the story with the loose pieces we already had. I wanted the tone to be different because it’s period.
โ
You and @KateySagal should do a sons rewatch podcast.. Iโd love to hear some behind the scenes stuff
โ MR. S (@civale10) March 31, 2020
What about a sequel with Abel & Thomas? If history repeats itself or if they fulfilled Jaxโs wish to live a better life? I bet he still has the sons ring Gemma gave him? @sutterink #sutterthinks #sutterthinks
โ rissa801 (@feletoa_marissa) March 31, 2020
@sutterink Wouldโve made for a great quarantine radio drama. Like the old days, you couldโve told us to drink our Ovaltine and followed the clues to get our very own SOA decoder ring. #sutterthinks
โ CaptAssassin (@CaptAssassin) March 31, 2020
Despite the current outlook for the show, it didn’t stop fans from offering their suggestions on what Sutter could do in the meantime. While some still offered their thoughts on how it could still be made.ย
Sons of Anarchy is currently available to stream on Hulu.ย
