The Black Phone Director Teases Potential Sequel Plans

While early efforts in his career featured franchise sequels, Scott Derrickson made a name for himself in the horror realm with original stories like The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Sinister, and Deliver Us from Evil, but the filmmaker himself recently confirmed that if the upcoming The Black Phone resonated with audiences, there are already tentative plans for a follow-up adventure. Given that filmmakers typically play coy about laying the foundation of an ongoing journey, for Derrickson to directly confirm that he hopes to be able to develop a sequel would imply that it’s a pretty likely opportunity. With the film being based on a short story by Joe Hill, the author even detailed to Derrickson what the next chapter would explore. The Black Phone lands in theaters on June 26th.

“Joe Hill pitched me a wonderful idea for a sequel to Black Phone that, if this movie does well, I’m gonna do it. He’s got a great idea, I really liked it,” Derrickson shared with ComicBook.com. “Joe’s very protective and personal about his material, but he came to me with the idea and I was like, ‘That’s how you do a sequel to Black Phone. That’s terrific.’”

The film is described, “Finney Shaw, a shy but clever 13-year-old boy, is abducted by a sadistic killer and trapped in a soundproof basement where screaming is of little use. When a disconnected phone on the wall begins to ring, Finney discovers that he can hear the voices of the killer’s previous victims. And they are dead set on making sure that what happened to them doesn’t happen to Finney.” 

Starring four-time Oscar nominee Ethan Hawke in the most terrifying role of his career and introducing Mason Thames in his first-ever film role, The Black Phone is produced, directed, and co-written by Scott Derrickson, the writer-director of Sinister, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, and Marvel’s Doctor Strange.

The film’s screenplay is by Derrickson & C. Robert Cargill (Doctor Strange, Sinister franchise), based on the award-winning short story by Joe Hill from his New York Times bestseller 20th Century Ghosts. The film is produced by Derrickson & Cargill’s Crooked Highway and presented by Universal and Blumhouse. Jason Blum, Scott Derrickson, and C. Robert Cargill are producers on the film, which is executive produced by Ryan Turek and Christopher H. Warner.

The Black Phone lands in theaters on June 26th.

Are you hoping the film earns a sequel? Let us know in the comments or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things horror and Star Wars!