If there’s one thing we know here at Bloody-Disgusting it’s that people love horror movies. And since people seem to be rather fond of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, it seems pretty likely that the new film, produced by Guillermo del Toro and directed by André Øvredal (The Autopsy of Jane Doe), could potentially lead to a sequel, or two, or three.
And in our latest interview with André Øvredal, the director says they’re already talking about what comes next! [SPOILERS AHEAD!]
At the end of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, Stella (Zoe Margaret Colletti), having finally saved the day by telling Sarah Bellows’ story, had a dilemma. The evil had been defeated, but her two friends Chuck (Austin Sajur) and Auggie (Gabriel Rush) had been pulled into the darkness, and they never came home. She vowed to find a way to save them, but there’s one person she didn’t say she was going to save…
What about Tommy (Austin Abrams), the other teenager who was attacked by Sarah Bellows’ stories? Sure, he was a world-class a-hole, but was Stella considering saving him too? Or, since he was actually killed by the scarecrow Harold, instead of being pulled off-screen, does he not get to come back?
“We would have to figure out what to do with [Tommy] if we’re lucky enough to be able to do a sequel,” André Øvredal said. “Because that’s all up to the audience. The audience has to embrace it. They actually have to come and see it. Then we can talk about making a sequel.”
“We have ideas for it, we’ve plotted out something, but that’s more in general terms. Not specifically down to whether Tommy is back or not,” Øvredal continued. “But definitely we need to figure out his resolution as well, if we do something with the other characters.”
“But also remember that’s a hope that she has,” Øvredal reminded us. “It’s not necessarily the future, that she’s able to do it. That’s just a wish.”
It sounds like Øvredal is leaving himself a backdoor, in case the sequel doesn’t decide to resolve the fates of Chuck, Auggie and Tommy. But what about that plot they’ve been working on? Would the sequel follow the same “stealth anthology” template as the first Scary Stories film, and use the main story as a framework in which they inject the various horrifying tales of author Alvin Schwartz and illustrator Stephen Gammell?
“I would assume the template wouldn’t be too dissimilar, because I think exactly what you said. It’s a stealth anthology. It’s more like you go into these little scenes that come out of the books,” André Øvredal said.
“I mean, I love set pieces. I love creating them, I love watching them. So in the end, especially in horror movies, it’s the thing. It’s why I go to see horror movies, is to live that five-minute moment where everybody’s terrified,” Øvredal added. “So the structure would presumably be similar but it would always stick to the stories as faithfully as we can, but adapting stuff. It’s always something, it’s always going to have to change something.”
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, the first film, is currently in theaters! You can read my review here.