Is The Purge 4 A Prequel?

02/17/2017 04:38 pm EST

It was recently announced that The Purge 4 is coming in summer 2018, and some early details of the production had us looking back to last fall, when our team over at Pop Culture Now actually had a chance to sit down with Purge franchise creator James DeMonaco. It seemed like a casual conversation at the time, but now we realize that there may have been some early hints about what might happen with The Purge 4 - including the now-confirmed notion that DeMonaco would only write the film, and not direct.

When talking to us last fall, DeMonaco said that with The Purge 4, he wants to wind the clock back, and would use the fourth installment to tell a prequel story:

"I think I am going to write part four and there's also a miniseries they want to do. I think I'll have a writing hand in both. And for the movie, I'd like to do a prequel. I'd like to go back in time to see where it all started from. It seems right to me. That feels like the right kind of avenue to pursue. The trilogy feels complete. I feel like if I did a fourth one it would take away from the third one. Going back in time seems right. And the TV show is a whole different animal."

While many may look at the current socio-political climate in the US and naturally assume that a new Purge movie would take full advantage of the situation (especially considering where Election Year left things),

Now, that's not to say that The Purge 4's prequel story couldn't also reflect the current times we live in: in fact, the story of how America entered into a frightening new era of authoritative rules and rituals might never come at a more opportune time. The horror on this one might be a little too real...

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More PURGE News: Purge 4 Announced | Trump Uses Purge Slogan | Creator talks Franchise Future

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