The Night Manager team scrapped John le Carré's sequel idea – but promise "faithful" season 2

The team behind The Night Manager season 2 opted not to use an idea suggested by the late John le Carré, his son has revealed.

The spy thriller originally adapted le Carré's novel of the same name, which follows a suave hotel manager turned intelligence agent (played by Tom Hiddleston) as he takes on notorious arms dealer Richard Roper (Hugh Laurie).

Despite being a runaway success when it premiered almost a decade ago, multiple factors led to the second season taking such a long time to materialise – not least of which being that there was no more source material to draw on.

Hiddleston explained: "[Season 1 and 2 screenwriter] David Farr has achieved the impossible. The Night Manager was based on a novel by John le Carré, there was no second novel, no sequel.

"[But] David has written it with all the sophistication and complexity that le Carré would approve of and admire."

However, le Carré's son Simon Cornwell, who works on The Night Manager as an executive producer, has revealed that his late father did actually share an idea for where the show could go next – but ultimately, it didn't decide the direction they went in.

"He shared a note [around the time of season 1] with the first ideas for a second season, which are ideas we've moved a long way on from and have nothing to do with the show we’ve ended up making," said Cornwell.

"But that opened the door and gave us permission to start thinking about how we do a second season."

If that's at all troubling to fans of le Carré's work, Cornwell is also quick to make clear that Farr has remained true to the legendary novelist's sensibilities.

"David is an extraordinary figure and a very talented man. He may not want to admit it, but he is a tremendous le Carré buff. He's read every one of my father's books and thought deeply about them," he insisted.

"He has exceeded in internalising, not just the language of le Carré, but the deep engagement with the characters, with morality, and with the big questions that we're surrounded with in life, along with the ability to tell a really gripping story."

The Night Manager season 2 picks up with Hiddleston's Jonathan Pine, now going by the name Alex Goodwin, as he goes undercover in the inner circle of another dangerous arms dealer, Teddy Dos Santos (Babylon's Diego Calva).

The synopsis, courtesy of the BBC, teases: "Pine is plunged deep into a deadly plot involving arms and training of a guerrilla army. As allegiances splinter, Pine races to expose a conspiracy designed to destabilise a nation.

"And with betrayal at every turn, he must decide whose trust he needs to earn and how far he’s willing to go before it's too late."

Hiddleston added: "It's very exciting to have arrived at this juncture where we have made something new, which has the familiar flavours, spices and strains of what we did the first time. But this is something completely fresh and original.

"This second series has a depth, a resonance and a rawness of emotion. We've been very brave about that, and committed to pull the masks away from these characters, to let you see their innermost truths, in all their passion and complexity."

In addition to Hiddleston, original stars Olivia Colman (The Roses), Alistair Petrie (Andor) and Noah Jupe (Hamnet) are also reprising their roles, with Laurie attached as an executive producer (but not expected to appear).

Also joining the cast is Camila Morrone (Daisy Jones & The Six) as a reluctant ally to Jonathan, plus Indira Varma (Coldwater), Paul Chahidi (Ludwig), Hayley Squires (Blitz), Unax Ugalde (Mary & George) and Kirby Howell-Baptiste (The Sandman).

The Night Manager season 2 premieres on BBC One and iPlayer on New Year's Day.

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