The Director of ‘The Black Phone’ Has One Requirement for a Sequel, and It’s a Pretty Big Ask

Last year was nothing short of fantastic for horror. From Nope to Crimes of the Future to Men to two-thirds of Ti West’s X trilogy, horror fans ate particularly well in 2022.

And while it didn’t quite reach the heights it may have hoped to, The Black Phone was certainly no detraction from the genre’s impressive form. Indeed, despite its densely packed and only slightly explored mythos, a slew of excellent performances and its distinctly harrowing subject matter ensured that Scott Derrickson’s feature stood tall alongside its brethren.

Warning: Spoilers for The Black Phone to follow.

Given the many threads The Black Phone encouraged us to pull at, it’s no question that this particular world would benefit from a sequel or spinoff so as to delve into at least some of the supernatural nuances a bit more deftly. But according to Derrickson in a recent interview with ComicBook.com, a follow-up won’t happen unless one entirely understandable but very tricky condition is met:

It’s possible. It’s not a definite thing, but if it does become definite, you’ll be the first to hear. I can tell you this much, I wouldn’t make a Black Phone sequel without Ethan [Hawke]. I don’t think there’d be any point in doing that.

Ethan Hawke brought The Black Phone‘s antagonist—the menacing Grabber—to life, but considering the villain met his end in the film, it sounds like Derrickson’s terms would only be met if the possible sequel took the form of a prequel. All things considered, that would be quite limiting.

Then again, The Black Phone also exists in a world where ghosts are real, so who’s to say that the metaphysics aren’t such that the Grabber could return from the grave to maybe turn a grown-up Finney’s life into a living hell? Maybe Finney has children of his own who square up against the Grabber in their father’s stead—who’s to say?

In any case, it doesn’t sound like 2 Black 2 Phone is on the docket just yet, so tempering those daydreams might be the best course of action for the time being.

(featured image: Universal Pictures)