Smile 2 Will Be Done? Director Parker Finn Gives a Tantalizing Answer

Smile director Parker Finn discusses the possibility of a sequel to his 2022 horror film, hinting at what Smile 2 could feature and explore. The directorial debut was adapted from the 2020 short film and stars Sosia Bacon, Jessie T. Usher, Kyle Gallner, Caitlin Stasey, Kal Penn and Rob Morgan. Smile follows stressed-out psychiatrist Rose Cotter, plagued by unsettling hallucinations and horrific acts as she discovers she is being haunted by a mysterious entity that uses the despair and trauma of its victims.

In an interview with ComicBook.com, the director was asked if he ever considered developing a sequel after its box office success, despite the film originally being developed as a standalone story. While Finn doesn’t seem to be looking for an immediate sequel, he seems to be open to the idea:

“I made Smile, of course, to be self-sufficient, to tell its story. I didn’t think there would be such a demand for a sequel. But having said that, I think there are things within the film that remain deliberately unexplored that would be very exciting to dive into, and also things that I didn’t get a chance to do in the first film due to budget constraints or that just didn’t quite fit. to history. I think there might be a way to explore and immerse yourself more in the world of Smile, surely it will have to be something very unexpected and surprising for an audience”.

Smile 2 Would Be A Big Win For The Original Horror

Inspired by Finn’s Laura Hasn’t Slept, the film adapted much of the short into a feature film. Smile’s success came in a year that saw multiple wins in the horror genre. While much of this can be attributed to well-received sequels in long-running franchises including Scream and Halloween Ends, many of the 2022 horror releases have also been new and original stories. These include features from acclaimed directors, such as Jordan Peele’s Nope and Scott Derrickson’s The Black Phone, and projects from newer and lesser-known directors, such as Bodies Bodies Bodies by Halina Reijn and Smile himself.

With original stories like these, it’s easy to enjoy critical and box office success that, in almost every case, can match and even surpass long-running franchises. Horror is an incredibly viable genre that can allow filmmakers to remain experimental without relying on familiar imagery.