This surprising 2019 survival horror hit has been greenlit for a sequel

A surprise critical and commercial hit, Crawl was lauded for its action and visual effects during its release, and now fans will be getting a sequel to the natural horror movie.

As confirmed by The Hollywood Reporter, the follow-up was greenlit by Paramount in August 2024, with Alexandre Aja returning to direct. Writer duo Jason Pagan and Andrew Deutschman, whose résumés include writing the scripts for the horror film Paranormal Activity: Ghost Dimension and time-travel drama Project Almanac, will pen the screenplay. The list of producers remains intact from the original, with Aja partnering with Craig Flores and genre veteran Sam Raimi. The film is expected to begin production in Europe in the fall.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the sequel will feature an entirely new cast, and won’t continue the original story, with the creators opting to start afresh. The movie will reportedly be set in New York City, exploring the natural dangers the cityscape has to offer. A release window for the sequel hasn’t been revealed yet.

Released in 2019, Crawl starred Kaya Scodelario and Barry Pepper as an estranged father-daughter duo forced to put their differences aside in light of a Category 5 hurricane in Florida. Alligators were the main villains in the film, as they went on a bloodthirsty rampage once the storm hit. Morfydd Clark, Ross Anderson, Jose Palma, Colin McFarlane, George Somner, Anson Boon, and Ami Metcalf appear in supporting roles.

Made on a relatively modest budget (reportedly $13.5-15 million), Crawl was a box-office success, crossing the $90 million mark. The initial script written by brothers Michael and Shawn Rasmussen underwent several critical changes once Aja came on board, giving the characters more realistic attributes to make their survival stories more believable. This included making the protagonist Haley Keller (Scodelario) a college swimmer, with her father Dave (Pepper) being her former coach.

From an objective point of view, the studio and creators’ decision to abandon the original storyline for Crawl 2 makes complete sense. The first film ended on a happy note for the father-daughter duo, as they not only survived impossible circumstances but also re-established their bond after years of bad blood. The sequel putting them in a situation where they’d need to fight for their survival again would have come across as extremely unrealistic, so starting with a clean slate is the best-case scenario.