Image: Universal/Blumhouse
In 2021, following his split with Marvel over Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, director Scott Derrickson pivoted back to full-on horror with The Black Phone. Based on a 2004 short story by Joe Hill, the film was notably one of the few instances where leading man Ethan Hawke played an all-out villain. If you saw it, you wouldn’t think there was anything that suggested it could be a full-on franchise, but Blumhouse begs to differ.
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On Friday, the horror-focused production company revealed another installment was in the works, currently known as The Black Phone 2 and set to release on June 27, 2025. Right now, that’s the only real news about the movie. But as far as what it’s about, co-writer C. Robert Cargill wrote on Twitter that Hill presented a “really great idea” for a follow-up, likely the same one that Derrickson said he heard from the author back in 2022. (In that same tweet, Cargill indicates that he and Derrickson are returning for the sequel, though in what capacity isn’t fully clear.)
The first film starred Mason Thames as Finney, a young boy abducted by Hawke’s serial killer simply known as “the Grabber.” Locked in a soundproof basement, the only hope for Finney to escape is a rotary phone in the room that allowed him to talk with the Grabber’s previous teenage victims, some of whom he knew in the days before they were ultimately killed. It definitely resonated with audiences when it came out: along with solid reviews, the movie earned $161 million worldwide (on a budget of around $18 million).
What does a second Black Phone movie look like, and what’s this “really great idea” that Hill has cooked up for it? We’ll find out on June 27, 2025, assuming no delays get in the way of things.
[via IndieWire]
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