Summary
- Blumhouse and Universal have set a release date for The Black Phone 2, the sequel to the supernatural horror film.
- Details about The Black Phone 2, including the return of director Scott Derrickson and actor Ethan Hawke, are currently unknown.
- The Black Phone, released in 2022, was a box office success and received critical acclaim, making the decision to continue the story an obvious choice.
Blumhouse and Universal will bring back The Black Phone director Scott Derrickson to helm the sequel to the popular 2022 horror movie. A release date was set for the film back in October, with The Black Phone 2 set to premiere on June 27, 2025, and now producer Ryan Turek has revealed to ComicBook.com. Details surrounding The Black Phone 2 remain scarce, but it has been confirmed that Ethan Hawke will reprise his role as The Grabber, which was the one condition that Derrickson had for returning to the franchise.
The original film starred Academy Award nominee Hawke as The Grabber, a magician and mask-wearing child abductor and serial killer. The film follows Finney, a 13-year-old boy (portrayed by Mason Thames) who is kidnapped by the sadistic Grabber and sequestered in a sound-proof basement. There, the young abductee discovers a ringing (but disconnected) phone that connects him to his kidnapper’s previous – and now deceased – victims, who are trying to ensure Finney’s survival. Alongside Hawke and Thames, The Black Phone starred Jeremy Davis, Madeleine McGraw, E. Roger Mitchell, Troy Rudeseal, James Ransone, and Miguel Cazarez Mora.
The Black Phone, released in the summer of 2022, was a box office success, grossing $161M globally, and fared well with critics who praised the cast’s portrayals. The movie received the 2022 Saturn Award for best horror film and the 2023 Hollywood Critics Association Film Award for best horror. The film’s commercial and critical achievements make the decision to extend the narrative an obvious choice.
The Black Phone was written by Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill, adapted from a short story of the same name by Joe Hill. Derrickson and Cargill also served as producers alongside Jason Blum for Blumhouse.
Scott Derrickson’s Thoughts on The Black Phone Sequel
Confirmation of The Black Phone 2 came just weeks after Derrickson discussed a possible follow-up film. Derrickson shared that he was open to revisiting the terrifying tale under the condition that Hawke reprise the disturbing villain.
“It’s possible. It’s not a definite thing, but if it does become definite, you’ll be the first to hear… I can tell you this much, I wouldn’t make a ‘Black Phone’ sequel without Ethan. I don’t think there’d be any point in doing that.”
Derrickson also revisited the Black Phone universe through his contribution for V/H/S/85, the most recent installment in the found footage franchise which is now streaming on Shudder.
“Oh, there’s actually a universe crossover in there, which I guess I made it too subtle because nobody’s picking it up. But James Ransone tells Detective Wayne, when he’s behind the glass, he was talking about Gunther. He says, ‘He has these dreams that are prophetic.’ And he says, ‘My sister had the same gift. They drove her crazy, she killed herself.’ And he said, ‘Gunther’s cousin Gwen has the same thing too. I f***ing hate it.’ Well, the sister is Gwen’s mom, and Gwen is Gwen from The Black Phone.”
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
