Director Scott Derrickson and actor Ethan Hawke are all set to return for the sequel of 2021’s sleeper horror hit The Black Phone. The film produced by Jason Blum along with Derrickson and co-writer C Robert Cargill was one of the most profitable films of 2021.
The Black Phone 2 will see Ethan Hawke, Mason Thames, Madeleine McGraw, Jeremy Davies, and Miguel Mora reprising their roles in the horror film. The film is scheduled to release on June 27, 2025. The return of Hawke in the sequel makes fans rethink the ending of the first film and in what capacity the character of The Grabber returns. Spoilers ahead.
What Is Ethan Hawke’s The Black Phone About?
The horror thriller The Black Phone was one of the most profitable films of 2021, earning over $161 million at the box office against a $16 million budget. The film was based on an iconic short story by writer Joe Hill, the son of noted horror novelist Stephen King. The Black Phone was directed by Scott Derrickson, known for directing Sinister and Doctor Strange.
Derrickson and C Robert Cargill were hoping to make The Black Phone after Derrickson finished Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which he was obligated to direct. However, the director left the film midway due to creative differences and was replaced by noted director Sam Raimi. Cargill and Derrickson then focussed on making the horror film.
The Black Phone follows the story of Finney, a young boy who gets abducted by a murderer known as The Grabber in 1978. The town Finney lives in is constantly in fear of the murderer and many kids in his schools have been abducted by him. When Finney wakes up in a soundproof basement after being kidnapped, he finds a black phone that has the ghosts of the murdered children on the other side instructing him on the ways to escape.
The film stared Ethan Hawke as the Grabber, collaborating with Derrickson for the second time after Sinister. It was the ninth time that Hawke collaborated with producer Jason Blum after joining hands on multiple projects, with Blum even being the producer-director of Hawke’s theatre company.
Jason Blum Commissions Sequel For The Black Phone
After the success of The Black Phone, it was recently announced that producer Jason Blum had commissioned The Black Phone 2. Based on an idea pitched by Joe Hill while filming the original, the film is set to see Scott Derrickson and writer C Robert Cargill return as director and co-writer respectively.
One of the surprising aspects of the sequel is that Ethan Hawke will be returning as The Grabber. The Grabber is implied to be dead at the end of the first film after the young Finney snaps his next with a phone chord and escapes. While no details regarding the plot have been revealed, it is interesting to see how Hawke could come back for the film.
The sequel also sees Mason Thames, Madeleine McGraw, Jeremy Davies, and Miguel Mora returning. Derrickson is currently filming his action film The Gorge for Apple TV+, which stars Anya Taylor-Joy, Sigourney Weaver, and Miles Teller. Filming of The Black Phone 2 is expected to begin after Derrickson is finished with The Gorge.
