Sure, he’s currently celebrating the recent release of his latest horror-comedy, “Freaky,” but filmmaker Christopher Landon can’t escape the “Happy Death Day” questions. After writing and directing the first two films in the Blumhouse franchise, fans have been eagerly awaiting news about the planned third film. Previously, the filmmaker cited financing concerns while Jason Blum has seemingly said that he’s ready to produce it. So, what’s the hold-up?
Speaking to ET, Landon was asked about the status of a third “Happy Death Day” film. And once again, the idea of money seems to be the driving factor behind the lack of progress.
“I need a truckload of cash, if you could just find that for me, I’ll send you my address, you can just drop it off,” said Landon. “I get this question a lot and I know that there’s a huge fan base and there are a lot of people who want to see the conclusion, as I would say, to the trilogy. I think it really comes down to Universal deciding whether they want it or not, only time will tell. We’re ready to make it. Like, I have an outline, I’m ready to go write the script, Jessica Rothe, the whole cast, everybody’s on board. They all know what the idea is, they love it, so we’ll see.”
READ MORE: ‘Happy Death Day’ Filmmaker Says Third Film Isn’t Happening Unless It’s Saved By Netflix
He added, “I think that everybody wants it, but I think it’s just a logistical challenge right now. And there’s been talk that maybe they would try and make it for their new streaming service, for Peacock, so I think there’s a real shot that it could eventually happen. And the great thing about the idea is that, and this is a spoiler, it’s not set in the same day that the other two films were set in so it allows us to sort of take our time a little bit and figure it out.”
For those that haven’t seen the first two films, they star Rothe as Tree, a girl that finds herself in a “Groundhog Day” scenario where she dies and wakes up on the exact same day. She then has to figure out how to break the chain and move on. It’s quite obvious that Landon has his eyes set on a third ‘Happy Death Day.’ In fact, he went on to say that the franchise is meant to be “a trilogy” and added, “I’ve got to make the third one.”
Landon also mentioned the new deal with Universal and theater chains like AMC and Cinemark that allow for films like “Freaky” (which he also directed) to hit PVOD after 17 days in theaters. He feels that a third “Happy Death Day” would fit perfectly in this model. And honestly, he’s not wrong.
So, is there anyone out there with a truckload of cash?