We are not going to pretend that today is a happy one because it is anything but. Although Marvel fans might be getting the big reveal they’ve all been waiting for, those of us who align ourselves with campy, silly, horror movies are having our hearts ripped out. It’s been six years since director Christopher Landon continued his dark comedy horror film series, Happy Death Day, with Happy Death Day 2U and, since then, fans have been waiting for a third installment. Despite things seeming incredibly promising for a while, Landon has all but confirmed that another movie will never see the light of day.
Speaking to SFX, Landon spilled the tea about the threequel in the making, revealing,
“I didn’t write the script because I never want to count my chickens and get ahead of myself. But I was ready to go and start writing this, but then it was sort of like, it was weird.”
Explaining what was so “weird” about his conversations with Blumhouse and Universal, Landon continued,
“We had a lot of fits and spurts in terms of maybe we’ll do it. At one point they talked about it becoming a three-part event thing for [streaming service] Peacock, which was kind of weird. I was like, ‘Alriiiiiight! Whatever it takes.’ But then it went away and that was the last we ever heard of it – which was years ago. It’s been an interesting journey because both movies were financially very successful, so I think it’s left us and a lot of fans scratching their heads as to why we weren’t allowed to make a third. But I don’t control the purse strings, I don’t call those shots. That’s entirely up to Blumhouse and Universal, if they have an appetite or interest in it.”
‘Happy Death Day’s Financial Success
If there’s one thing Landon’s right about, it’s the enormous box-office success that both Happy Death Day and its sequel enjoyed. One would think that a movie about a baby face mask-wearing killer and time travel might keep people away from the cinema, but the opposite was the case. The first film, which cost just under $5 million, ended up raking in a staggering $125.5 million, quickly marking it down as a monetary win. Although the follow-up earned a little more than half of that — $64.6 million — it still provided more than enough coverage for its $9 million production budget.
Sequels, threequels and franchises have long been all the rage when it comes to the spooky scary genre, and it’s clear that fans are eagerly awaiting another chapter in the Happy Death Day franchise. With this in mind, hopefully Landon’s latest comments aren’t the final nail in the time-traveling slasher film series.
via Collider