The Black Phone 2 Adds Horror Veteran to Cast

The Black Phone 2 has added a horror veteran to its cast. According to Deadline, Demián Bichir has been cast in the sequel to Universal’s 2021 hit horror film, The Black Phone. Per the report, details about Bichir’s role in the sequel have not been released nor have details about the plot of the film emerged. What is known about The Black Phone 2 at this time is that Scott Derrickson is returning to direct. Derrickson is also joined by C. Robert Cargill in writing the sequel — the pair also wrote The Black Phone. Original cast members Ethan Hawke, Mason Thames, Madeleine McGraw, Jeremy Davies, and Miguel Mora are also set to return. The Black Phone 2 has a release date of October 17, 2025.

Bichir is no stranger to horror projects. The actor starred in television’s Let the Right One In as well as appeared in 2020’s The Grudge, 2018’s The Nun, and 2017’s Alien: Covenant. Outside of his work in horror, Bichir has an extensive filmography and was even nominated for an Academy Award for his role as an undocumented immigrant gardener in 2011’s A Better Life.

The original The Black Phone is based on a story by Joe Hill and follows the story of Finley, a 13-year-old boy who is kidnapped by a masked killer, The Grabber, and locked in a basement. On the wall is a phone that starts ringing and when Finley answers it he discovers that the voices on the other end of the line belong to the killer’s previous victims who are determined to ensure that Finley does not suffer the same fate.

“There have been some really, really good conversations about a sequel. And the thing is, as soon as I saw the mask, which was designed by Tom Savini and Jason Baker, as soon as I saw the mask I thought, ‘If this film is a hit, there’ll be a sequel,’ because the mask is so iconic,” Hill told ComicBook in 2022. “It is like Freddy Krueger’s glove, it is like Michael Myers’ mask, it is this thing where it’s the imagery, iconic imagery, that haunts people’s sleep. And look, in horror guys like Jason Voorhees and Freddy Krueger, and Frankenstein, and Dracula, none of these guys stay buried. They all claw their way out of the grave for a sequel and then a threequel.”

He continued, “There have been talks about how to do a sequel that wouldn’t suck. How to do a sequel that doesn’t cheapen the film that came before, that’s still scary, that’s still intense, that feels organic. And those conversations have been pretty good. But if I were to provide any details, Scott and Cargill would lock me in the basement in the film, and that’s it. And the phone doesn’t work. As you know, the phone doesn’t work. I can’t call anyone to get out. So, I would decline to offer any real granular details about the possible sequel.”

The Black Phone 2 is set to open in theaters October 17, 2025.