'The Purge' creator has idea for sixth entry featuring return of Frank Grillo's Leo Barnes

The Purge could see another night of lawless bedlam if series creator James DeMonaco has his way — and it might even feature the return of a fan favorite Purge alum.

Recently chatting with /FILM, the writer of every single Purge movie so far revealed that he has an idea for a sixth entry in the franchise that would see the return of Frank Grillo as cynical LAPD sergeant, Leo Barnes. To date, the character has appeared in two previous installments, The Purge: Anarchy (2014) and The Purge: Election Year (2016).

"My Purge 6 idea is all about Frank. It’s all about the Leo character," DeMonaco said. "Without giving anything away, I think he’s off on his own, but he’s going to be called back into action, hopefully on Purge 6, if we’re lucky enough to do it. I hope that Leo comes back. That’s the goal. When I came up with Purge 6, he was the center of the idea. I’m hoping that we get to do that with him."

The fifth (and seemingly last) Purge flick — The Forever Purge — is now playing in theaters everywhere. Directed by Everardo Valerio Gout (Days of Grace), the film opened to $19 million worldwide over the long holiday weekend, posting solid numbers as the box office slowly rebounds from the pandemic.

"He [DeMonaco] wanted to go back to its original intent," Gout told SYFY WIRE. "The Purge is a big political challenge to the second amendment. [He] is absolutely anti-guns. And that's how this whole thing started. And so I was encouraged and empowered to take that to the next level and I brought in my viscerality and my authenticity."

"This one has quite a dark place we go to towards the end," DeMonaco added during his /FILM interview. "But I think in all the Purge movies, we always end on either saving a life or some bit of hope ... Because the conceit is so nihilistic, that I always felt we had to get a place of harmony or hope, otherwise you don’t want to leave what people want it to slit their wrists from the audience."

(Universal Pictures & SYFY WIRE are both owned by NBCUniversal)