New The Purge Movie Scores Army of the Dead Star

With a new entry in The Purge franchise officially moving forward, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed the first addition to the cast, Army of the Dead star Ana de la Reguera. The upcoming film marks the fifth entry into the series, in addition to two seasons of a TV series, with this new chapter set to be directed by Everardo Gout, who has directed episodes of Mars, Luke Cage, and The Terror. Plot details about the film have been kept to a minimum, with the previous entry into the series serving as a prequel to the entire franchise. The Purge 5 is slated to land in theaters on July 10, 2020.

The franchise explores a future in which America's government has implemented an annual event where all violent crimes are legal. This 12-hour window is meant to not only allow citizens to tap into their bloodlust that they restrain the rest of the year, but also serves as a means of culling the population, as the poorer members of society can't afford the supplies to protect themselves.

The first three films were written and directed by James DeMonaco, though he only wrote The First Purge while Gerard McMurray served as director. DeMonaco has written the script for the upcoming The Purge 5. While a new chapter in the series has fans excited, some reports claim that it will be the last film in the series.

"I have it in my head," DeMonaco said in an interview last year about the franchise's ending. "I think I'm going to write it. I think it's a great way to end it all. We want to end it all, I think, in this one, and I'm very excited. When I came up with the idea and pitched it to everybody, they seemed psyched, and I think it will be a really cool ending, how we take this one home."

When the series debuted in 2013, it was viewed as a dystopia, but as our culture has changed in recent years and violence has spread in countless ways, producer Jason Blum noted that the series is meant to serve as a warning.

"The Purge is a cautionary tale," Blum said of the franchise in an interview with ComicBook.com last year. "James Demonaco and I think that The Purge would not be a great idea. So I think the closer you let in to the thinking of how it came to be and why people want it and why people don't want it, hopefully that becomes clearer and clearer. But we don't make the movies to push a message down people's throat; we make the movies because it's a fun, crazy, wild idea. But second to that, I don't think it would be super responsible to have people walking away thinking the movies are propaganda to start a Purge in the United States because I don't think it would be such good idea."

The Purge 5 is slated to land in theaters on July 10, 2020.

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