After Aneesh Chaganty’s computer screen thriller, “Searching,” accrued a healthy 71 on Metacritic and saw box office takings of around $75 million (on a budget of $880,000), the urge to make a follow-up became a question of when not if. And sure enough, in 2019, Chaganty announced his intention to anthologize the series with a standalone sequel before the COVID-19 pandemic suddenly put the entire movie industry on hold. Four years later, “Searching 2” is ready for release under the analogous name “Missing,” and its first trailer has just dropped.
For “Missing,” Chaganty has handed over the directing reins to Nick Johnson and Will Merrick, who both edited Chaganty’s 2020 psychological thriller “Run.” Chaganty instead shares writing credit with Sev Ohanian (“Searching,” “Run”).
Here’s the official synopsis:
From the minds behind Searching comes Missing, a thrilling roller-coaster mystery that makes you wonder how well you know those closest to you. When her mother (Nia Long) disappears while on vacation in Colombia with her new boyfriend, June’s (Storm Reid) search for answers is hindered by international red tape. Stuck thousands of miles away in Los Angeles, June creatively uses all the latest technology at her fingertips to try and find her before it’s too late. But as she digs deeper, her digital sleuthing raises more questions than answers…and when June unravels secrets about her mom, she discovers that she never really knew her at all.
Ohanian revealed in a Reddit thread that the plot of “Missing” not only follows on from “Searching” but also includes references to the events succeeding “Run.” The cast includes Storm Reid (“The Invisible Man”), Nia Long (“Boyz n the Hood”), Joaquim de Almeida (“Fast Five”; “Desperado”), Tim Griffin (“Grey’s Anatomy“), Daniel Henney (“My Lovely Sam Soon“), and Amy Landecker (“Transparent“).
The film was produced by Screen Gems, Stage 6 Films, Bazelevs, and Search Party, with producers Timur Bekmambetov, Adam Sidman, Jo Henriquez, and Natalie Qasabian working alongside Ohanian and Chaganty.
The release date for “Missing” was originally set for February 24, 2023, before Sony brought it forward to January 20, avoiding opening weekends with Universal’s “Cocaine Bear” and Lionsgate’s “Jesus Revolution.”
Watch the new trailer here.