Black Phone 2 director Scott Derrickson has talked about the possibility of another installment seeing the light of day. Last week, the sequel was released exclusively in theaters to positive reviews from critics, reaching the top spot at the domestic box office over Tron: Ares. While the audience response remains crucial, the director claims that the fate of the horror franchise depends on his ability to deliver a stronger film than the previous two.
Derrickson recently talked to Variety about Black Phone 2, and expanded on perfecting the concept of a sequel. The director has only one other sequel credit as the co-writer of Sinister 2, but it was not exactly memorable. This is what he said about the art of continuing a story:
“You can fall to the left or to the right. On the left, you can make something that’s too faithful and try to recreate the experience of the original film. We’ve all experienced something that feels like a rehashing, and that’s disappointing. Then on the right, if you stray from it too much, you’re in danger of losing [the audience] because it doesn’t feel like it belongs in the same world.”
When asked about the chances of making another sequel in the universe created by author Joe Hill, whose short story inspired the first movie, Derrickson seems hesitant to turn The Black Phone into a trilogy:
“What I can say is that my attitude toward a sequel is that there’s really no justification for making a sequel unless you are genuinely attempting to make a movie that’s better than the first movie you’re making a sequel to.
“If you’re going to make a third one, it needs to be better than the second one, which is better than the first one. Very few films do that. Looking back on the history of cinema, I think Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead trilogy and George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead trilogy are probably the only two trilogies of movies where they’re all three great movies and get progressively better.
“What would be important to me in considering any ideas is that it’s just not a retread, and that we don’t feel like we’re seeing, ‘Oh, now we establish this new rule for the Grabber. So let’s just do that again.’ That’s the only thing I couldn’t do.”
Black Phone 2 sees the return of Ethan Hawke, Mason Thames, and Madeleine McGraw as the Grabber, Finney, and Gwen, respectively. Joining them are Demián Bichir, Jeremy Davies, Miguel Mora, Arianna Rivas, and Anna Lore. The story takes place a few years after the events in the first movie, where Finney bravely fought the serial killer with a little help from his ghostly allies. Now, the Grabber has found a way to strike back from the afterlife, attacking Finney by going after his little sister, Gwen.
Is There a Chance for ‘Black Phone 3’?
Black Phone 2 was released last weekend, reaching $27 million at the domestic box office. In terms of critical reception, many have praised Derrickson’s sequel approach, with others placing it above its 2021 predecessor. So far, the Blumhouse production has grossed a worldwide total of $42 million, which puts it well on its way to reaching (and surpassing) the original’s total of $161.4 million. Nevertheless, it’s still early to draw conclusions.
A potential sequel does not only depend on Derrickson’s capacity to come up with a compelling and better story. As with all movies that eventually evolve into franchises, a sequel also depends on how well the previous entry does, especially in terms of profit. Though fans would surely want to see more of the Grabber, Black Phone 3 still depends on whether audiences continue to buy tickets in the following weeks. However, early signs point to Black Phone becoming a long-term horror franchise for Blumhouse.
- Release Date
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October 17, 2025
- Runtime
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114 Minutes
- Director
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Scott Derrickson
