After scaring up a substantial return on investment thanks to a low initial budget, Paramount’s Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark has been greenlit for a sequel, according to a new report from The Hollywood Reporter. The film made more than $105 million worldwide—nowhere near the numbers of something like It of course, but with a budget of only $25 million, that was more than enough to return for a sequel.
The film will reassemble most of the original’s creative team, with André Øvredal (Trollhunter, The Autopsy of Jane Doe) returning to direct. Dan and Kevin Hageman will again tackle the script, with Guillermo del Toro in the producer role—although really, you just get the sense that they want to be able to slap his name on everything for that patented del Toro bump.
The 2019 first film received something of a mixed but vociferous response from critics and horror fans, who praised its visuals and creature designs, but largely criticized its choice to embark on a “the stories are coming to life” storyline rather than simply adapting some of the more popular stories from Alvin Schwartz’s books in a more anthology based format. It made for an experience that was often compared to the Goosebumps film series, particularly in its approach to bringing younger audiences into the horror genre. How effectively the film actually managed to adapt the infamous illustrations of Stephen Gammell is another matter of considerable debate.
One thing is certain, though: With three installments of Scary Stories, there’s certainly a hell of a lot more source material waiting out there to be adapted. There’s even an obvious title for the sequel: More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. We’ll see if that’s what ultimately plays out, but we wouldn’t mind seeing a Scary Stories sequel that hews more closely to the structure of the books.