Can you hear that? It’s the Black Phone, and it’s ringing… again.
Oh, you thought the line had been cut and fully disconnected following the conclusion of 2021’s captivating and critically acclaimed horror, The Black Phone, but you couldn’t be more mistaken. In Hollywood, there’s no such thing as a dead line – certainly not when the aforementioned movie makes over $161 million from a budget of $16-$18 million – so a sequel was inevitable.
In the industry, the rule is simple: If your first film makes lots of money, there’s always room for more, irrespective of how the story ends. Universal Pictures and Blumhouse had a huge hit on their hands first time around, so the phone gets plugged back in and we go again
Black Phone 2 will be ringing phones and hopefully ringing tills this October, just in time for Halloween. As for the story, Black Phone 2 will see the terrifying Grabber back from whatever hellscape he ended up in, to cause more havoc for Finn and sister Gwen.
Describing the new movie, Universal said: “Four years ago, 13-year-old Finn killed his abductor and escaped, becoming the sole survivor of The Grabber. But true evil transcends death … and the phone is ringing again.
“Four-time Academy Award® nominee Ethan Hawke returns to the most sinister role of his career as The Grabber seeks vengeance on Finn (Mason Thames) from beyond the grave by menacing Finn’s younger sister, Gwen (Madeleine McGraw).
“As Finn, now 17, struggles with life after his captivity, the headstrong 15-year-old Gwen begins receiving calls in her dreams from the black phone and seeing disturbing visions of three boys being stalked at a winter camp known as Alpine Lake.
“Determined to solve the mystery and end the torment for both her and her brother, Gwen persuades Finn to visit the camp during a winter storm. There, she uncovers a shattering intersection between The Grabber and her own family’s history.
“Together, she and Finn must confront a killer who has grown more powerful in death and more significant to them than either could imagine.”
Joining Hawke, Thames, and McGraw for Black Phone 2 is Jeremy Davies who reprises the role of Finn and Gwen’s father, Terrence, and Miguel Mora who is back as Robin. New cast members include Oscar® nominee Demián Bichir (The Nun, A Better Life) as the supervisor of the camp; and Arianna Rivas (A Working Man) as his niece.
Other new cast members include Maev Beaty (Beau is Afraid) and Graham Abbey (Under the Banner of Heaven).
Meanwhile, behind the camera, Scott Derrickson is back as director and co-writer, re-teaming with fellow co-writer C. Robert Cargill. Their script is based on characters created by Joe Hill.
Derrickson and Cargill are also producing this sequel, alongside Jason Blum. Executive producers are Hill, Adam Hendricks, and Ryan Turek.
As for the reason why the Grabber is back, no one is saying just yet. Presumably all will be revealed when the film makes its debut.
As the Grabber so eloquently puts it to Finn in the preview trailer “Did you think our story was over? You of all people know that dead is just a word.”
And of course, if the Grabber can come back once, don’t be surprised if he comes back again, and again, and again. Being killed off in one movie doesn’t tend to be an end point for horror monsters; just ask Freddy, Jason, Michael, or Chucky!
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves with ideas of Black Phone 3, 4, ad infinitum; for now, the Black Phone 2 is ringing, and it’s up to you to answer the call. You have from now until the movie’s release on October 17th to decide if you want to pick up the receiver.
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