Question: In the very last scene, we see Michael Shannon in shackles (presumably in a federal prison) with electroencephalographic sensors attached to his forehead and scalp, oddly gazing at the sunrise as two prison guards flank him. In the very last shot of the film, a closeup of his face, we see his eyes faintly glow for a split-second as he smiles a very slight smile. Question: Is the film implying that Alton is in otherworldly contact with his father, or that his father absorbed some of Alton's otherworldly power; or is it implying that, being the boy's biological father, he was the source of Alton's power? In any event, this may never be revealed, because the film barely made back one-third of its $18 million production budget, making the probability of a sequel highly unlikely.
Answer: I wasn't sure what to make of it, but I got the impression that he was communicating with Alton like he had done when Alton ran from the truck. I also thought his smile was perhaps in reaction to what Alton told him and/or the two were making fun of (mocking) the use of electrodes because they knew the electrodes would not have any effect on him.
P.S. Plenty of lousy movies have had sequels, so it is possible there could be a "Midnight Special 2".
Not necessarily holding my breath.
A sequel doesn't seem likely. Hope you weren't holding your breath waiting for an answer to your question.
Question: Why was this movie a box office flop?
Answer: This was the fifth movie in the series, and it was not critically well-received. Most reviews felt it was unoriginal and unfunny compared to its predecessors and should probably have been released straight to video. With tepid reviews, audiences probably were willing to wait until it was available on DVD or streaming. Although not as financially successful as its predecessors, it did make around $408.5 million against a $105 million budget, so it did not lose money.
Question: Why are the officers wearing dress blues in the beginning of the movie? The replacement commander of the 110th has a chest full of ribbons...The black military police officer at the command center. Everyday military officers would be wearing Class A's or fatigues.
Answer: Although it's technically a mistake, it is common in films to show military officers in dress uniforms with medals and ribbons to show that particular soldiers are important. A layperson may not know military uniform protocols but they can certainly tell that dress uniforms with a lot of medals signifies high rank at a glance.
Answer: There have been many reasons they maybe didn't want to come back for a sequel. Or sometimes actors are too busy working on another movie and it interferes with their filming schedule.