2026 is really the year for incredible horror movie news. This film was both one of the better Stephen King adaptations and one of the weirder (imagine that), and now it seems 1408 is finally coming back for more, twenty years after it originally debuted in theaters. This news comes courtesy of Daniel Richtman’s Patreon, where it was also revealed that the first film’s original director, Mikael Håfström (The Rite), is in talks to return to helm the sequel.
It’s not entirely surprising that this project is now in the works, since John Cusack has said for years that he would love to return to this story (he told People that it was the one movie that he would actually do a sequel for). What’s surprising is that it took this long to happen. Also not surprising is that Cusack, who played author Mike Enslin, and Samuel L. Jackson, who played Gerald Olin, are both rumored to be returning for the project. As of right now, there are no real plot details or even a tentative release date to share. But what there is is a whole lot of theories surrounding how this sequel could start, as the original film had multiple different endings scattered across its different releases.
What Could Fans Expect From the 1408 Sequel?
That really is anyone’s guess, since so few details are known beyond the actors’ interest and Håfström’s return. It also doesn’t help that the movie has multiple endings, leaving things murky and open-ended at the same time. But fans have thrown out a few ideas as to where things could kick off, ranging from a prequel to Enslin never having actually left the room, remaining either trapped there or having become a permanent guest and starting the cycle over again, to a new guest coming in as the main character, with Enslin and Olin there as guides, or potentially antagonists.
And while a ton of fans of the original are excited, some are on the opposite end of the spectrum, claiming the first film was perfectly complete, and continuing it only opens it up to the not uncommon trend of sequels just flat-out sucking in comparison to their predecessor, especially ones that happen so many years later. “Please don’t. It’s a near-perfect horror movie; you really don’t need to number 2 electric boogaloo the thing. At least keep John Cusack’s character out of it and leave his ending up for question. Bring Samuel L. Jackson back and have it be about how the room burning down set free all the spirits, and now they’re haunting the entire hotel. Or hell, just make it about a different haunted room entirely, but for the love of God, leave Cusack’s character’s fate alone,” said one fan, summing up the dissenting camp’s feelings perfectly.
While it’s great to see everyone excited about a sequel, especially to a movie as weird as 1408, I think the nebulous ending wrapped things up perfectly.