Troll on Netflix is a new 2022 Norwegian monster movie that is essentially Godzilla meets The Iron Giant meets Norwegian troll mythology. And it’s exactly as silly and awesome as it sounds.
Directed by Roar Uthaug, with a screenplay by Espen Aukan, Troll borrows heavily from the many monster movies that have come before it. But it also weaves in themes of Norwegian folklore, making it far more magical and anti-Christian than your typical American “big monster go steppy” movie. At a breezy 101 minutes, it’s the perfect movie to watch on a Friday night with a beer or two, while you yell and laugh at the screen.
Quite few Netflix users have done just that, it seems, considering Troll peaked at No. 1 on the Netflix Top 10 Movie list this weekend. Audiences have a hunger for trolls, it seems. The best part? The Troll ending suggests that the story might not be over yet. Read on for Decider’s breakdown of the Troll ending explained, and what we know about the possibility of a Troll 2 on Netflix.
What Is Troll on Netflix About?
Growing up, Nora Tidemman (played by Ine Marie Wilmann) was always told stories by her father about the trolls that lived in the Norwegian mountains. Father and daughter spent years together searching for the mythical creatures—until Nora grew up and realized her father was a bit too obsessed with this fairytale. Nora pursued a career as a paleontologist and her father Tobias (Gard B. Eidsvold) became a reclusive, eccentric old man.
Then one day there is a horrible accident in the mountains of Dovre. While drilling a tunnel through the mountain, workers and protestors are killed by a mysterious creature. The Norwegian government recruits Nora to help track down the creature. (It’s not clear why the government does this—maybe they think it’s a dinosaur?) Nora—alongside the Prime Minister’s advisor Andreas (Kim Falck) and military captain Kristoffer Holm (Mads Sjøgård Pettersen)—must turn to Nora’s father for help.
Although no one wants to believe it at first, the creature is, indeed, a troll. It, therefore, follows at least some of the rules of Norwegian troll mythology. Fortunately, Nora’s father is an expert in Norwegian troll mythology. Unfortunately, he is killed when the army confronts the troll, shoots it, and causes the troll to go into an Iron Giant-esque rampage. Using a clue from her father’s notes, Nora pays a visit to the Norwegian king, aka the Chief of Court. The king reveals that his palace was built on top of the Troll King’s palace, after the Christians massacred all of the trolls. All of the trolls, that is, except for one.
What Is the Troll Ending Explained?
Nora’s father always said that trolls will turn to stone in the sunlight. But the troll they’ve been dealing with has attacked civilians in broad daylight. While in the palace, Nora discovers that the troll skeletons disintegrate under her ultraviolet flashlight. Aha! That’s it! Trolls can not be in UV light, aka direct sunlight. This particular troll has only been out on cloudy days, which is why it has not yet been turned to stone. Clouds block UV rays! And Norway is very cloudy!
Nora relays this information to her military buddy Kris. The military had been planning to nuke the troll, and also nuke the city of Oslo in the process. (They at least evacuated the city first.) But Kris gets a team of soldiers to help him create a UV-light troll trap: They lure the troll into the trap using the skull of a baby troll from the palace’s dungeon. They corner the troll in a circle of UV light before the nuke is launched. While watching the troll suffer under the artificial UV light, Nora changes her mind and begs the military to spare the troll’s life. But it’s too late—the clouds part, and the real sun comes out. The troll turns to stone, resembling nothing more than a rock on the hill. In the movie’s final scene, Nora and Andreas wonder aloud if there are more trolls out there.
Is There a Troll End Credits Scene?
Yes! Don’t touch that dial, because there is a Troll mid-credits scene that you don’t want to miss. We cut to the ruins of the tunnel that was being dug that first woke up the troll. The camera zooms into the mountain. We hear the rumbling sound of huge, thunderous footsteps as we zoom in on a pile of rubble. And then… the pile of rubble explodes and we hear a troll’s mighty roar!
That’s right, there’s still at least one surviving troll hiding in the Dovre mountains. Who’s ready for Troll 2 on Netflix?
Will There Be a Troll Sequel on Netflix?
The short answer? We don’t know. While the Troll ending certainly sets up a sequel, there is no official word on whether Troll 2 is happening. That said, obviously, the filmmakers behind Troll are hoping for more. In fact, Troll producer Kristian Strand Sinkerud said in a recent interview with What’s On Netflix that she hopes to do not just one Troll sequel, but two. But, she added, it all depends on how well the first one does.
“As filmmakers, you always have ambitions to make something that can last a little longer than one film,” Sinkerud said. “Of course, we have ambitions to make a sequel and perhaps two sequels, but it all depends on how the audience are responding to Troll.”
In that same interview, Troll director Roar Uthaug had a more conservative response to the question of Troll 2, saying, “Right now we’re focused on one big entertaining movie and let’s see how the response is to that.”
Considering the fact that Troll has been hovering around the No. 1 and No. 2 slot on Netflix’s trending titles list for the Top Movies on the streaming service, it seems that the response to Troll has been overwhelmingly positive. C’mon, Netflix! Give us Troll 2!