The Day Of The Jackal Season 2 Update May Have Spoiled The Fate Of Eddie Redmayne's Assassin

43 years after its publication, Frederick Forsyth's "The Day of the Jackal" is still thrilling people the world over. The book is newly relevant due to its fourth live-action adaptation, and while the Peacock series bears little resemblance to the based-on-real-life novel (no one's trying to assassinate French President Charles de Gaulle this time out), it's gripping in its own right thanks to dynamite performances from Eddie Redmayne as the very dangerous prey and Lashana Lynch as the estimable predator.

Why is this yarn so enduring? It's a classic cat-and-mouse story with believable stakes. The fate of the world doesn't hang in the balance because of Redmayne's assignment — at least, not yet. The show is a slow burn, and is only at its seventh episode in the United States, so who knows where it's all going to end up? We'll have to wait until December 12 to find out, but we've got one new development as of today, and that bit of information might be a rather significant spoiler. If you don't want to know, now would be an excellent time to skedaddle elsewhere.

Peacock and Sky announced today that "The Day of the Jackal" will return for season 2. This is great news if you're a fan of the series, but also problematic when you consider that, as of the most recent episode, Redmayne's Jackal is in a bit of a tight spot. Overall, it feels as though his mission could go south; there's a sense of impending doom that's hard to ignore, especially if you know Forsyth's book.

The Jackal hasn't fared well in the two most well-known versions of this tale. Point blank: Whether it was Edward Fox in the 1973 telling or Bruce Willis in the adrenalized 1997 actioner, that character has been killed. So is the show's continuation a signal that Redmayne's Jackal is going to survive into the next season? Possibly. But that might've been academic from the start.

Redmayne is an executive producer on "The Day of the Jackal," and while he's not the creator/showrunner of the series (that would be Ronan Bennett), you'd have to imagine that his buy-in on a second season, given how buzzy the show has been, would mean a good deal to Peacock and Sky going forward. Their priority should be retaining the onscreen services of Redmayne. And it's not like he has any "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" duties keeping him from re-upping.

So, yes, this may be a spoiler. The Jackal may not die. Or this could be a massive head fake, and Redmayne will pass his sniper rifle to another worthy killer. On second thought, maybe the suspense just got kicked up after all.