'Happy Death Day 2' Starts Production Next Week, With 2 Additional Stars
"Happy Death Day" KILLED at the box office last October, so it's no surprise that a sequel is happening. And it's happening fast -- according to Deadline, production is starting May 10.
There's no premiere date at this point, but Deadline added details on two new cast members:
- Actor Suraj Sharma ("Homeland") will play Samar Ghosh, "a science enthusiast and geek who enjoys coding in his spare time."
- Actress Sarah Yarkin ("Foursome") will play Dre Morgan, "a science geek and tom-boy with a sleepy feline gaze who is Samar's partner-in-crime."
Original cast members Jessica Rothe (Tree Gelbman) and Israel Broussard (Carter Davis) are also returning. The first film followed Tree's "Groundhog Day" style murder on her own birthday. Christopher Landon directed the first film, and he'll be back for the sequel.
Landon was already talking about plans for a sequel back in October; here's what he told Insider:
"The whole idea for my sequel is actually already in this movie. It's hiding in plain sight. The answer to why she's literally stuck in a time loop — it's something I have the answer to. It's in my back pocket, because, knock on wood, you never know how things are going to go, and we're not counting our chickens, but if I am lucky enough to have the opportunity to make a sequel, the answer to that question is the premise of my sequel."
Jessica Rothe talked to Collider about Chris Landon's sequel pitch in January:
"I like it because a lot of times with horror movies, if there's a sequel, it's almost a repeat, with different actors and slightly different storylines, but it worked, so you do the same thing again. Chris has done this incredible thing where the sequel, the way he described it to me, elevates the movie from being a horror movie – and I wouldn't even say it's just a horror movie because it's a horror, comedy, rom-com drama – into a Back to the Future type of genre film where the sequel joins us right from where we left off, it explains a lot of things in the first one that didn't get explained, and it elevates everything. I was really pleased to know that we weren't just gonna be pushing all the buttons that people loved the first time, over and over again, 'cause I think that gets old. I'm really excited to see if it comes to fruition and, if it does, what the final product looks like. I hope we get to do it! I had a ball!"
You get to do it! Congrats on possibly dying many more times.
"Happy Death Day" was a surprise hit, making more than $122 million around the world off a budget of less than $5 million. Blumhouse Productions has had great success with that low-budget model, including "Paranormal Activity," "Get Out," "Insidious," "The Purge," and "Split," plus sequels.
Want more stuff like this? Like us on Facebook.