Smile Director Teases the “Sky’s the Limit” for Future Installments in the Franchise

Parker Finn’s Smile was originally set to be a Paramount+ exclusive, but based on feedback from the studio and from test screenings, the decision was made to instead release the movie in theaters. The movie would go on to earn $217 million worldwide and earn 80% positive reviews on aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, paving the way for this year’s Smile 2. As far as what the future holds for the series, the filmmaker confirmed that there are plenty of avenues to explore, though the motivating factor will be seeing how audiences connect with this latest adventure when it lands in theaters on October 18th.

“I think there are so many different, interesting directions the world of Smile can take, different roads it can go down,” Finn shared with GamesRadar+. “Right now I’m very excited to see how audiences respond to Smile 2 and if we are lucky with how audiences can connect with and embrace the film, I think the sky’s the limit.”

The original film saw Dr. Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon) being a witness to a woman taking her own life in a gruesome manner, resulting in Rose being the target of an otherworldly curse that continued the cycle of death and trauma. In Smile 2, that curse persists, as we see pop star Skye Riley (Naomi Scott) becoming the new target of the curse.

While there are direct narrative connections between the characters in the original and the characters in the sequel, the overall concept of the franchise would allow future sequels or spinoffs to pivot into a variety of new worlds and situations. Additionally, the performance of Smile 2 could see Finn taking on new projects that would open the door for other filmmakers to put their stamp on the Smile series.

Given that Smile 2 targets a famous pop star, this potentially opens up a bigger world of possibilities for where the series could go, with Finn himself sharing back in 2022 how one of his biggest goals was to not repeat himself in follow-up films.

“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,” Finn shared with ComicBook.

Reviews for the sequel have only just started to make their way online, though Finn and Paramount will have to wait a few more days to see how the film performs financially. With only two years having passed between the debut of the original movie and the release of the sequel, it’s unclear when, or if, a Smile 3 could take shape.

Stay tuned for updates on the future of the Smile series. Smile 2 hits theaters on October 18th.

Would you like to see the movie get another entry? Contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter or on Instagram to talk all things Star Wars and horror!