2026 is set to be a big year for horror, with Scream 7, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, The Bride!, and a new take on The Mummy headed for release. Basically, established IP horror will be big business in the next year as it has been in 2025, even with the success of originals like Sinners and Bring Her Back. And a long-awaited horror sequel has just got an exciting update from one of its new stars.
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The 2019 horror-comedy Ready or Not was a breakout critical and commercial success, with a star-making performance from Samara Weaving, the sequel is set for 2026. Ready or Not: Here I Come has also added Elijah Wood, and the Lord of the Rings star has just offered a tease about the sequel’s story and how it connects to the explosive ending of the original: “I’m a big fan of Radio Silence. I love their films. I love the original. I think Ready or Not is a total blast,” Wood told Bloody Disgusting while promoting his new film, The Toxic Avenger.
“I love Samara in that film. I love the cast of that movie and the kind of nugget of the mythology that you get.” The actor then revealed where the sequel is headed. “What I love about this sequel is that it really deepens that mythology, so I’m stoked for people to see it,” he explained. “It’s a movie that takes place almost immediately after the first one ends and enriches everything you love about the original film.”
The original Ready or Not concluded with one of modern horror’s most memorable final shots: Grace, drenched from head to toe in the blood of her exploded in-laws, sits on the steps of the burning Le Domas family mansion and calmly smokes a cigarette as police arrive. Writer Guy Busick previously confirmed that the story of Ready or Not: Here I Come will find Grace in a hospital with no time having passed, forced into “another weirder, bigger game.” The sequel is bringing back the original creative team of writers Busick and R. Christopher Murphy, with directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett also returning to helm the project. And the impressive cast also has a slate of new additions, including Kathryn Newton, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and Wood.
Elijah Wood Will Be Seen Next on The Toxic Avenger
Before he joins the Le Domas family’s cursed games, Elijah Wood is part of a major genre revival with a key role in The Toxic Avenger. The new film is a reboot of the infamous 1984 cult classic from Troma Entertainment, a studio known for its low-budget, independent splatter films. The original followed a nerdy janitor who is mutated into a deformed superhero after being pushed into a vat of toxic waste, becoming a cult icon and the unlikely face of the Troma brand for decades. The new film, written and directed by Macon Blair, offers a more mainstream but still brutally violent and darkly comedic take on the hero’s origin.
The reboot centers on Winston Gooze (Peter Dinklage), a downtrodden janitor and stepfather who, after a deadly medical diagnosis and a run-in with a corrupt corporation, suffers a similar toxic transformation. He becomes the monstrous vigilante known as Toxie and uses his newfound superhuman strength to protect his son and his community from the corporate greed that created him. The film features a stacked cast that includes Kevin Bacon as the primary villain, Bob Garbinger, and Taylour Paige.
In The Toxic Avenger, Wood plays Bob’s bizarre and deformed younger brother, Fritz Garbinger, a role that sees the actor as a hunched, mostly bald henchman. The actor noted that his character is the product of a difficult upbringing, desperate for the approval of his more successful brother. After a successful premiere at Fantastic Fest in 2023, the reboot has received positive reviews praising its commitment to practical gore effects and its surprising heartfelt story.
Ready or Not: Here I Come is scheduled to be released in theaters on April 10, 2026. The Toxic Avenger just arrived in theaters today.
What element of the Ready or Not mythology are you most excited to see explored in the sequel?
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image courtesy of 20th Century Studios
