Nearly a year after The Strangers — Chapter 1 was unleashed, star Madelaine Petsch took to social media to announce that the sequel, The Strangers — Chapter 2, is set to hit theaters in September. The star also offered up a new photo from the upcoming film, and while it doesn’t offer much insight into what the story could explore, knowing how long it’s been since we’ve heard updates on the project comes as a relief. You can check out a first look at The Strangers — Chapter 2 below, which is set to hit theaters on September 26th. The previous film is currently available to rent on multiple platforms.
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Petsch merely captioned the image, “strangers chapter 2. only in theaters 9/26.”
The actor shared in a statement, “I promise that we’re making The Strangers — Chapter 2 as terrifying as possible, and I can’t wait to show you on September 26th.”
Producers Courtney Solomon and Mark Canton added, “Like Strangers fans everywhere, we’re thrilled for Chapter 2 — it’s the kind of film that’ll have audiences watching through their fingers. Bringing it to theaters this Halloween season feels perfect, and we can’t wait for everyone to see where the story goes next.”
The original The Strangers hit theaters back in 2008 and largely established the successful formula for contemporary home-invasion horror movies. After landing on home video, its popularity grew exponentially, though the story’s conclusion presented a major challenge for continuing any type of narrative. Instead, 2018’s The Strangers: Prey at Night served as a continuation of the concept, focusing on a group of masked killers tormenting a family, yet didn’t include much narrative connection to its predecessor.
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In hopes of reviving excitement in the property, director Renny Harlin was tapped to helm a new take on the concept, but rather than being another straightforward reboot or even a spiritual sequel, Harlin went an entirely unconventional route: he filmed a whole trilogy of movies over an extended production time.
Given the timeline of the project and how it was made when COVID restrictions were lifting and many studios were pivoting to streaming debuts, the release of the first The Strangers — Chapter 1 went through an evolution, first envisioned as a streaming release before being upgraded to a theatrical effort. Unfortunately, the movie didn’t resonate exceptionally well with critics or audiences, sitting at 21% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and taking in $47.8 million worldwide.
As teased at the end of the previous film, the next chapter is set to pick up shortly after that film concluded, so while principal photography wrapped on Chapter 2 quite some time ago, it’s possible that this lengthy wait could have resulted in tweaks being made to improve on the upcoming installment.
The Strangers — Chapter 2 is set to hit theaters on September 26th.
Are you looking forward to the new movie? Let us know in the comments or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter or on Instagram to talk all things Star Wars and horror!
