The scale of the Happy Death Day 3’s premise is reportedly holding back the trilogy film, says Christopher Landon.
The filmmaker behind Happy Death Day and Happy Death Day 2U is keen to get cracking with a third movie in the series. In fact, it would be his project of choice right now if only Universal would give him the green light.
Speaking about the possibility of making a third film, Christopher Landon said that “I have that movie in my head, and I know exactly what I want. It’s actually a bigger movie than the previous two films, and that’s part of the issue, ultimately. This third movie needs a bigger budget, but since the second movie didn’t perform as well as the first, it’s a tall order. But I’m still holding out hope that Universal will give me a chance because it would be a really fun conclusion”.
The second film was no slouch at the box office pulling in over $60m from a reported $9m budget. However, that fact that it earned less than the first film is apparently giving Universal pause for thought, especially since Landon wants to go big to round out the series.
The filmmaker is happy to miss out a cinematic outing for the film though, if that’s what it takes to get it made. According to Landon, he thinks the second film’s box office is perhaps being underrated by the studio. It’s still profitable, and Universal’s marketing spend also put a dent in the backend.
Having the future of your projects decided by an arbitrary equation rather than being valued on the strength of its concept must be frustrating and Landon recognises that. “I understand the economics of it, but I also think they’re missing the fact that we’ve gained an audience over the years. People finally found their way to the second movie and realised that it was really fun. So, if we did make a third one, I think we’d have a bigger audience than they expect. Or we could do it for Peacock. I don’t know. It doesn’t have to be theatrical. I’d prefer it, but it doesn’t have to be”.
There’s also been talk of a crossover with Landon’s body swap horror Freaky (a film he was frustrated over its streaming release), but he freely admits that a third film in the Happy Death Day series would be his preference. It’s admirable that the director is holding onto his concept in the face of the studio’s desire for a scaled-back film. Hopefully at some point, Landon will get to make the film he really wants to.
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