Ready or Not 2 Writer Compares Sequel to Aliens and Confirms Timeline

Ready or Not and Scream screenwriter Guy Busick is enjoying more success with the release of the revival of the Final Destination franchise with Final Destination Bloodlines. The screenwriter has found a successful group of like-minded filmmakers in Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, a collaboration that started with Ready or Not and will continue with co-screenwriter R. Christopher Murphy in Ready or Not‘s sequel. During a recent interview with ComicBook, Busick addressed what fans can expect in the upcoming follow-up and how it’ll address the finale of the first film.

As it turns out, he’s got some lofty goals for where the series could go in the future. When asked how he sees the sequel avoiding the dreaded sophomore curse, Busick revealed he took a cue from his work between Scream V and VI to “throw out the rule book.”

“For us, it was a complete meal. It was a one-and-done. We were all really proud of the movie. We love how it turned out. We love the fact that it did resonate in the horror community. It was the most special to make and I got to write it with my childhood friend, Ryan [Christopher Murphy],” he told ComicBook. “When Searchlight said, ‘We want to do another one.’ We were like, ‘Okay, we have to make sure there is a reason. It can’t just be to do this again.’”

Busick is also using a pair of classic sequels as a benchmark to aim for while writing the horror sequel: Aliens and Terminator 2. For him and Murray, these are the films that bring the best of both worlds from their sequels.

“What’s the crazy one? Things that we reference … Radio Silence, the producers, Ryan and myself … over and over again are Aliens and Terminator 2,” he said. “How do you blow it up in a way that isn’t even the same genre, but hits all the notes and has the same DNA? Here I Come is a horror movie with humor, just like the first one. But what’s the crazy, bigger world of it?”

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For Busick and Murphy, they got excited after forming their pitch and presenting it, pinpointing a “reason to exist” for the sequel, and a way to bring back Grace, played by horror star Samara Weaving.

“Samara is such a brilliant actor. We were like, ‘We want to do it again with her. We just have to make it make sense.’ When we hit the idea, we were like, ‘Yes, we get more Sam. We get more Grace,’” he said. “It’s been so rewarding. Ryan and I both went up to set this last week and just got back yesterday.”

While he kept most of the details under wraps, Busick did confirm some of the timeline funkiness we’ll see in the sequel. He also teased the larger world of Ready or Not and the other families that might have made their own deals with the devil.

“[The] movie picks up the second after the first movie ends. Grace wakes up in the hospital. No time has passed for her. The last thing she remembers is her in-laws exploded, including her new husband. They exploded in front of her and covered her in blood. She went outside and had her cigarette. The EMTs and fire department came. The credits roll and it picks up right there,” he told ComicBook. “Worldbuilding was important to us in that even in the first one, we were asking ourselves, ‘The Le Domas aren’t the only family that has done that.’

“We were like, ‘Okay, there is a bigger story. So, who are the other families and are they connected? Could there be a network of families that have made these Faustian bargains with the mysterious Le Bail character? And what would that look like?’ he continued. “Those questions just became a lot of fun to chase.”

Ready or Not: Here I Come is currently in production and will likely aim for theaters in 2026. Weaving is returning as Grace, while other famous names have joined the cast. This includes Buffy alum Sarah Michelle Gellar, Abigail star Kevin Durand, iconic horror director David Cronenberg, and Lord of the Rings star Elijah Wood.

Do you think expanding the world of Ready or Not is the right direction for the sequel? Give us your thoughts in the comments.