The team behind The Blackening is getting ready to serve up more scares and laughs.
Tracy Oliver, who co-wrote the script with Dewayne Perkins, confirmed this week on social media that a sequel to the horror comedy is moving forward.
“Love, love, love that @DewaynePerkins and I get to cook up more horror foolishness on a @Blackening sequel. Big thank you to everyone who came out to support and watched it at home!! This movie is truly the little indie that could,” Oliver posted on X, formerly Twitter.
The movie was based on a 2018 short film by the same name from Perkins’ comedy troupe 3Peat. The story skewers horror movie tropes — and the idea that Black characters usually get slashed first.
Related Story: ‘The Blackening’ Trailer Shows Juneteenth Vacation Turn Into Twisted Nightmare (Video)
The cast included Perkins alongside Grace Byers, Jermaine Fowler, Melvin Gregg, X Mayo, Antoinette Robertson, Sinqua Walls, Jay Pharoah, and Yvonne Orji.
The film followed a group of Black college friends who reunited for a Juneteenth getaway. But their holiday weekend turned into a nightmare when they became trapped inside a cabin with a killer who forced them to play a racially offensive trivia game called “The Blackening.”
Tim Story (Think Like a Man) directed the film from the script by Oliver (Girls Trip) and Perkins (Brooklyn Nine-Nine).
Perkins told Variety the goal is for the original creative team to return for the sequel.
“Same group, sprinkle in some new people,” he explained. “I feel like we’ve got something good, and I love the dynamic, but fresh blood always turns things up a little bit.”
The first film premiered over the Juneteenth holiday weekend and made back its tiny $5 million production budget in three days, as previously reported.
On opening weekend, the comedy rang up $6 million — and eventually earned a total of $18.1 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo.
The film received a “B+” CinemaScore from audiences. Critics liked it too and gave it a “certified fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Blackening was first shown in September 2022 at the Toronto International Film Festival. After a bidding war, Lionsgate acquired the film for a reported $20 million.
Lionsgate-owned Starz released the movie on cable and the Starz App in October, in time for Halloween.
