The Purge Creator James DeMonaco Explains Why New Sequel Remains 'In Limbo' For Now

It's now been two years since the release of The Forever Purge, the film that was originally meant to close out The Purge franchise on the big screen with an ending that altered the status quo of the film's fictional United States. It wasn't long after the film's release, though, that talk of a sixth movie in the franchise started to circulate from creator James DeMonaco. So, what happened to that still-unmade new entry?

Speaking to The Playlist about the 10-year legacy of the franchise, DeMonaco clarified that, while a script for The Purge 6 has been in place for a while, the project's future is at least somewhat up in the air right now, as Universal Pictures mulls the expense of another film in the series after the high-stakes conclusions of The Forever Purge.

“I wrote the script . Universal has seen it,” DeMonaco said. “There are concerns about budget, but it definitely presents a fractured America…The America I present in Purge 6 is where we all are separated by ideology and sexual preference. So, the states are broken down in different ways.”

RELATED: Everything We Know About The Purge 6 So Far

Set after the events of The Purge: Election Year, The Forever Purge presented a version of American in which the conservative New Founding Fathers had taken back power and reinstituted the annual Purge. But the societal appetite for violence started to boil over among fringe groups, to the point that, in the film, the Purge didn't end with one night. Militias and hate groups began patrolling the country long after the closing sirens rang out, creating a version of America on the brink of full-on civil war.

DeMonaco confirmed to SYFY WIRE back in 2021 that he'd written a sixth Purge script that would further explore this violent division, and bring back Frank Grillo as fan-favorite franchise character Leo Barnes. Earlier this year, Grillo confirmed that he's ready to return as Barnes as soon as the project is greenlit. Now, though, it's up to Universal Pictures to make the call, and according to DeMonaco, that might not happen just yet.

“It’s written, it’s in [Universal’s] hands," he said. "I think they’re scared about the budget. But my thing was if I was going to come back and direct a sixth one, it was going to be something bigger and a little more epic in scope, with this new America I want to present and bringing back [Frank Grillo’s] character. So, it’s kinda in limbo.” 

Here's hoping DeMonaco gets to make his next Purge epic.

In the meantime, you can stream the original Purge film that started it all over on Peacock.