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The Black Phone 2: Blumhouse Horror Hit Ringing Up Sequel From Universal
Will Ethan Hawke's The Grabber return or will a new killer be set loose?
Universal Pictures and Blumhouse are once again answering the call. SYFY WIRE has confirmed that the longtime horror collaborators have handed down the green-light for a sequel to 2021's The Black Phone, which is currently slated to hit theaters on June 27, 2025.
Per the announcement, the sophomore installment (aptly titled The Black Phone 2) will be the "launch of a sinister new franchise." As of this writing, it is somewhat unclear whether director Scott Derrickson — who penned the first movie alongside usual creative partner, C. Robert Cargill — will return to write, direct, produce, or some combination of all three.
RELATED: Why The Black Phone Director Scott Derrickson Shot Down a Request to Give The Grabber a Backstory
Thanks to the recent end of the WGA strike, however, Derrickson and Cargill were able to echo the news on Twitter, with the latter confirming that they are both involved in some capacity. In addition, it sounds like the story for the second installment comes straight from the imagination of Joe Hill, upon whose short story the first movie was based. Another big mystery is whether we'll see the return of Ethan Hawke's mask-wearing maniac, or if a new killer will be set loose on an unsuspecting public.
The Black Phone takes place in a small town, circa the late 1970s, living in fear of an elusive abductor and murderer of children known as "The Grabber" (Hawke). When young Finney (Mason Thames) becomes the latest victim to be trapped in the killer's soundproofed basement, he begins planning to plan daring escape with the help of The Grabber's previous targets, all of whom get in touch through an old rotary phone that isn't plugged into anything.
Madeleine McGraw (The Harbinger), Jeremy Davies (Saving Private Ryan), and James Ransone (IT Chapter Two) rounded out the cast. The film received overwhelmingly positive reviews and grabbed (no pun intended) $161 million at the worldwide box office. Chatting with SYFY WIRE last year, Derrickson told us he was "open" to more stories in this mythos.
"Oh, I think about it," he confessed. "I'm certainly open to doing it. There are a lot of variables in that, especially because you're talking about kids who are changing by the hour, getting older and larger by the hour. But it's certainly something I'm open to."
The Black Phone 2 is set to have the operator connect it to theaters everywhere on June 27, 2025.
The Black Phone is now streaming on Peacock.
