More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is on the way, as original director Andr&é &Øvredal has reportedly closed a deal to direct an official sequel. Additionally, the original movie’s screenplay writers, Dan Hageman and Kevin Hageman, will also be returning to again pen the script. The plot will be based on a new story by Guillermo del Toro, who also served as the producer of the original Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark movie. The sequel will also be co-financed by eOne and new distributor Paramount Pictures.
There have been rumors of a Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark 2 going into development, and this news confirms the project is indeed moving along at a nice pace. As of now, del Toro and company are keeping plot details for the sequel under wraps, so it remains unclear if any characters from the original movie will be returning. One thing we can expect to see is more of the horrific stories from the original book series brought to life, as this was handled very well in the original movie. Perhaps we’ll see a few familiar antagonists returning, though many fans would certainly love to see other classic stories delved into as well.
In the first Scary Stories movie, the story was set in 1968 in the small American town of Mill Valley, Pennsylvania. It follows a group of teenagers who discover a mysterious book in a local “haunted house” filled with several scary stories. They then learn that new stories appearing in the book correlate with supernatural events playing out in real life, with many of the actual stories from the original book series inspiring what happens to the characters in the movie. Together, the teens must work together to figure out a way to put a stop to the insanity that’s taken over the town.
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark originally began as a book of short horror series first released in 1981. Written by Alvin Schwartz, the book featured ghastly imagery from illustrator Stephen Gammell which went a long way toward making the stories that much more terrifying. Based on the popularity of the book, two more would follow in 1984 and 1991. In the years since, the Scary Stories books have maintained their popularity with each new generation of young readers with consistent re-releases and updated versions. Efforts to turn the books into a movie date back many years with del Toro originally planning to direct as well as produce.
It’s not exactly a surprise to see Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark getting a sequel. With a budget of less than $30 million and ticket sales raking in over $105 million worldwide, the movie turned out to be a financial success. Most fans seemed to be happy with the adaptation as well, as the stories adapted from the books were done so rather faithfully. It’s also fortunate that the same creative team will once again be involved for Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark 2, suggesting we’ll be getting some consistency between the two movies. No word yet on when production will begin. This news comes to us from Deadline.
