‘The Black Phone 2’ By Scott Derrickson.
Scott Derrickson is back in the director’s chair for the sequel to his quasi-independent thriller “The Black Phone”. Blumhouse is set to produce. The first part was a surprise hit when it was released after COVID in 2022. Ethan Hawk is returning as the villain along with the rest of the cast from the first one. Blumhouse, Crooked Highway Production and Universal are producing the film.
Four-time Oscar nominee Ethan Hawk (First Reformed), Mason Thames (How to Train Your Dragon), Madeleine McGraw (Toy Story 4), Emmy and BAFTA award winning actor Jeremy Davies and Miguel Mora are set to return for Black Phone 2. New additions include Demian Bichir (The Nun) and Rebecca Clarke.
In the first movie, a 13 year old boy, who is abducted by a child killer in a suburban neighborhood and locked in a soundproof basement, begins to receive calls on a disconnected phone from the killer’s previous victims.
The first movie, directed by Derrickson was an adaptation of Joe Hill’s short story of the same name. It was co-written by Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill and racked up over $161 million on $16-18 million budget, becoming a sleeper hit in a rebounding summer of 2022 from COVID. The movie also made Deadline’s list of most profitable movies that year with an estimated net of $68 million. The writing duo are back penning ‘Black Phone 2’ and are producing with Blumhouse’s Jason Blum. Cargill is Derrickson’s frequent collaborator and have worked on “Doctor Strange” and “Sinister”. Joe Hill is an EP on the sequel.
The first part had plenty of scope for a sequel and narrative potential for an intense Black Phone 2 story, bringing audiences face-to-face with the ‘Grabber’ once again, although SPOILERS, (it is unclear how the ‘Grabber’ will be back considering his death at the end of the first film, but it is often difficult to keep a good villain down and also everyone knows how Hollywood is obsessed with sequels).
Derrickson, Hawke and Hill have all stated in some capacity that a sequel is something they’d be interested in pursuing, and in 2023, it was confirmed that a second part is on it’s way.
The release date for the sequel was set for June 27, 2025, but that date has since been adjusted. now the horror sequel is scheduled for October 2025. The shift can be seen as the studio’s plan to score a larger audience, since Halloween is a popular time for horror movies. It will be distributed internationally by Universal Pictures.
The plot details for the sequel are under wraps but director Scott Derrickson revealed in 2022, that author Joe Hill has some ideas about what the sequel will entail. “Joe Hill pitched me a wonderful idea for a sequel to Black Phone that, if this movie does well, I’m gonna do it. He’s got a great idea, I really liked it. Joe’s very productive and personal about his material, but he came to me with the idea and I was like, “That’s how you do a sequel to Black Phone. That’s terrific.”
Derrickson’s other directing credits include “Doctor Strange”, “Sinister” and “The Exorcism of Emily Rose”. he also shot his next film “The Gorge” for Apple Original Films with Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy as the leads. It will be released later this year.
Blumhouse has now dated “The Black Phone 2” for a October 17, 2025 for release.
