Smile Sequel Officially Announced

By Patrick Cavanaugh

The success of last year's Smile not only saw it pivot from being a Paramount+ exclusive to earning a theatrical release, but also earned reports that a sequel could be on the way, with Paramount confirming today at their CinemaCon presentation that a follow-up was officially in the works. No details about the plot, release date, or attached filmmakers were confirmed, though the first reports about a second installment were linked to Paramount signing filmmaker Parker Finn to an extended deal to develop more films for the studio. It's unclear if he will write or direct the upcoming installment or potentially oversee the development of the project with a new filmmaker attached.

In the original Smile, after witnessing a bizarre, traumatic incident involving a patient, Dr. Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon) starts experiencing frightening occurrences that she can't explain. Rose must confront her troubling past in order to survive and escape her horrifying new reality.  

Finn previously addressed the likelihood of a sequel and the motivating factors when it came to potentially exploring more unsettling stories set within this world.

"I made Smile to, of course, be self-contained, tell its whole own story," Finn shared with ComicBook.com in 2022 about the franchise's possible future. "I didn't think in a million years that there would be such a demand for a sequel. But having said that, I think there are definitely things inside of the film that remain purposefully unexplored that would be very exciting to dive into, and also things that I didn't get a chance to do on the first one for either budget constraints or if it didn't quite fit in the story that I think would be really exciting."

He continued, "I still feel that I never want to overtly just repeat myself or do the same thing I just did, but I think that there could be a really exciting way for there to be more in the world of Smile, but something very unexpected and surprising for an audience with a lot of tricks up its sleeves."

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Stay tuned for updates on the sequel to Smile.

Are you glad the film is getting another installment? Would you like to see Finn helm the next chapter? Let us know in the comments or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!

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