Still holding out hope for that next Purge film? You might want to adjust your expectations somewhat.
We first heard that a sixth entry in The Purge series was coming all the way back in March of 2021 when series stalwart Frank Grillo broke the news. Six months later, the production was seemingly greenlit, with confirmation that James DeMonaco, the creator of the popular horror series was back to helm the next film.
Naturally, this got fans of The Purge pretty excited. Bringing back two key creatives from the series’ early instalments seemed like a good way to re-establish the series’ importance in the contemporary horror genre, especially since some of the later entries have received a more mixed (but still largely positive) reception. It’s worth mentioning too, that Universal is spoilt for choice these days when it comes to green-lighting horror franchises so the option to return to the series’ roots seemed like a smart one to reinvigorate things.
That was almost two years ago and in that time, we’ve heard a few noises here and there about budget disagreements between director and studio. Sadly, that stand-off appears to be unresolved as DeMonaco has popped up over at The Playlist to confirm that the budget is still the issue that’s keeping the film in a state of suspended animation.
“I wrote the script. Universal has seen it,” he tells the outlet. “There are concerns about budget, but it definitely presents a fractured America. The America I present in Purge 6 is where we are all separated by ideology and sexual preference. So, the states are broken down in different ways. It’s written, it’s in [Universal’s] hands. I think they’re scared about the budget. But my thing was if I was going to come back and direct a sixth one, it was going to be something bigger and a little more epic in scope, with this new America I want to present and bringing back [Frank Grillo’s] character. So, it’s kinda in limbo.”
DeMonaco’s opinion hasn’t changed in the last year and given how the last film in the series ended, the story he’s talking up makes sense, not to mention sounding like it would make for a very watchable film. Unfortunately, it sounds like Universal’s stance hasn’t changed either so the chances of a sixth Purge film look like they could be waning. We’ll bring you more updates on this one as we hear it.
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