Searching Sequel Missing Gets First Trailer

The trailer for the long-awaited followup to 2018’s surprise hit Searching has finally arrived. On Wednesday, Sony Pictures unveiled the first trailer for Missing, which is set to debut in theaters early next year. The film utilizes the same “Screenlife” format as the previous film, telling its story entirely through screens and online apps — and the trailer certainly shows how many new storytelling components are possible in that format. The film will star Storm Reid (The Suicide Squad, Euphoria) and Nia Long (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, The Best Man).

“With such restrictive visual parameters, a movie like [Missing] requires a fresh visual style to separate it from the original,” Aneesh Chaganty said in a statement when the film was first announced. “I’ve contributed what I can to this growing sub-genre. But if there’s anyone on the planet with the potential to take it even further, it’s Nick and Will, who were there from the beginning.”

“Searching is so far the most successful movie shot in the Screenlife format and the sequel is set to become a new milestone,” producer Timur Bekmambetov added. “What seemed like an experimental technique a few years ago has been given a momentum now with more and more industry professionals turning to this digital filmmaking technique.”

What is Missing about?

From the minds behind Searching comes Missing, a thrilling roller-coaster mystery that makes you wonder how well you know those closest to you. When her mother (Nia Long) disappears while on vacation in Colombia with her new boyfriend, June’s (Storm Reid) search for answers is hindered by international red tape. Stuck thousands of miles away in Los Angeles, June creatively uses all the latest technology at her fingertips to try and find her before it’s too late. But as she digs deeper, her digital sleuthing raises more questions than answers…and when June unravels secrets about her mom, she discovers that she never really knew her at all.

Will Merrick and Nick Johnson direct off a screenplay they wrote off a story by Sev Ohanian & Aneesh Chaganty. Natalie Qasabian, Sev Ohanian and Aneesh Chaganty are producers. EPs are Timur Bekmambetov, Adam Sidman and Jo Henriquez.

“It was always a matter of taking something that is cold or mundane — devices that we use on a personal basis — and turn them into something that is cinematic,” Searching director Aneesh Chaganty said in a 2018 interview with Polygon. “The way we do that is by putting emotion underneath it. It was less about “what do these buttons and windows do?” and more about what meanings can we put behind what they do. We started off not looking at this as a screen movie but looking at this as a movie movie. We structured it very classically and traditionally. Let’s add characters in here with very simple motivations — a dad looking for his daughter — and have this emotionality underneath it. And then let’s adapt it on screen. Let’s study every button on a computer screen — every window closing, every website, every application, every function — and understand where in the story each could have the most emotional effect. It was always a matter of putting the story and characters first, and [having] these apps and websites really be in service of them as opposed to the other way around.”

Are you excited for Missing? What do you think of its first trailer? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!