Warning: This story contains spoilers about Black Bag.

And they lived happily-ever-after…or did they?

Black Bag, which hit theaters Friday, presents audiences with a portrait of a marriage between two spies, George (Michael Fassbender) and Kathryn (Cate Blanchett). When George is handed a list of possible traitors, including Kathryn, he immediately sets out to discover whether her wife is lying to him.

After an extensive game of cat-and-mouse, which at first appears to indicate Kathryn is playing both sides, George uncovers the real villain — his colleague James Stokes (Regé-Jean Page), who expressly defied orders and attempted to initiate a nuclear meltdown in Russia that had the potential to cost thousands of lives.

George and Kathryn’s confrontation with James eventually ends with his death (and the disposal of his body in a lake). And the couple is seemingly happier than ever, sharing their bed and vowing their loyalty to each other — even if some secrets must remain in their metaphorical “black bag.” But can they ever truly trust each other?

Both Fassbender and director Steven Soderbergh imagine that Kathryn and George will continue on past the film’s conclusion much as they were. “It’s a continual thing,” Fassbender reflects. “To ever think, ‘Okay, life is going to be easier now,’ no, this is the world that they live in. They’re all looking over their shoulder within their own organization. Just the idea of going to work and in your workspace you’re constantly being observed and assessed and this level of distrust is a resting place for everyone. Paranoia is always humming in the background. So I think it goes on as we left off and their relationship as well.”

As for Soderbergh, he thinks that while Kathryn and George may continue to face new problems as a result of their jobs, this particular issue won’t be one that plagues them a second time. ” I don’t think they’ll face this problem again,” he says.

But that doesn’t mean even graver threats wouldn’t be on the horizon. In fact, Soderbergh reveals that screenwriter David Koepp already has an idea in mind for a potential sequel. “If we were fortunate enough with success to be asked to continue this story, David has a really good idea,” says Soderberg. “I don’t want to jinx it, but it would be an even more serious problem that they would be confronting.”

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The director also notes that the cast have expressed interest in returning if the project were on the table.

While he won’t share specifics, Soderbergh notes that the concept for a second film circles around the repercussions of Black Bag’s events. “The idea that David has plays into this idea of there will be a consequence to the fact they took that action [and killed James],” he says. “That’s not going to go away. You just don’t disappear somebody who works in that business and never have to confront your role in it. So David’s idea of how this circles back to them is really interesting.”

In the meanwhile, Fassbender and Soderbergh suggest that audiences try implementing their own “black bag” in their lives. “The black bag is an analogy for marriage,” says Fassbender.
“Do you always tell the truth? What bits do you hold back, and is that to protect your significant other? It’s an interesting concept.”

“I don’t think it’s unhealthy for each of us to have a piece of ourselves that’s just for us,” adds Soderbergh. “Otherwise, you get lost in other people, and that’s complicated by the fact that other people are ultimately unknowable. So there’s a risk.”

Both men also suggest that the idea of a “black bag” may be even more useful outside of the parameters of marriage or a relationship.  “Black bag is a transportable idea whether or not they’re forced by what they do to employ this trope,” Soderbergh notes. ” Whether or not a normal couple should essentially give each other license to cultivate a completely separate existence, that’s an open question.”

“It can be used in everyday life, even outside marriage,” concludes Fassbender. “There’s always those people that are like, ‘Well, I just tell it how it is. I always tell the truth.’ And I’m like, ‘No, you’re just being a dick.’ So, black bag is useful in everyday life.”