Spoiler Alert: This article contains very mild spoilers for “Black Phone 2,” currently in theaters.
The moment Joe Hill saw The Glover’s mask, he knew “The Black Phone” might become a series.
“The mask was created by Tom Savini and Jason Baker,” Hill says. “I saw a mask with an interchangeable mouth. Sometimes the devil’s face is grinning, sometimes he’s frowning, other times he doesn’t have a mouth at all. I looked at that mask and thought, ‘Oh, there’s going to be a lot of movies like this.'” I thought it was instantly iconic, in the same way that Freddy Krueger’s glove is iconic and Michael Myers’ mask is iconic. I thought, “This is nightmare fuel. People are going to want a lot of it.” I thought he had the potential to be a memorable horror movie villain. If that’s the case, I’d rather be in a good movie than a bad one. ”
Hill’s instincts were spot on, and he brought up this memory during a discussion about the release date of Universal Pictures’ sequel Black Phone 2, currently in theaters in the US. It’s been a busy few days for the author, whose new 900-page book, King Sorrow, is scheduled to be published the same week on October 21st.
But he’s keen to discuss the expanded world of “Black Phone,” as the 2021 film that introduces the ferocious Glover, played by Ethan Hawke, evolved from one of Hill’s short stories. The sequel was written by the original team, Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill, and ventures into territory beyond the original. Hill was one of the first of the trio to propose a sequel, in which Finny (Mason Thames) and his sister Gwen (Madeline McGraw), who ran away from Glover in the first film, begin receiving scary phone calls in their dreams, which lead to a way for the recently deceased Glover to return.
“They didn’t know if they wanted to make a second movie,” Hill says. “It’s not clear that there should be a second film, because the first film was beautifully self-contained. But the problem is that it was just put there. The phone that Finny, the main character, uses to talk to people who have died. And I just thought, “What if the next person to call is a hell of a grabber?” I mentioned the idea to Scott and Cargill, and Cargill in particular was like, “Yeah!” There were several other concepts they liked, some of which were passed on to them and some of which ended up in the film. We were just spitting and wondering where we could land. ”
Hill was thrilled that Derrickson was also returning as director and that the two were interested in making a sequel. The author states that the pair is able to evoke something deeper from the material.
“If there was ever going to be a sequel, I would want Scott and Cargill to make it because I knew they would deliver a quality film,” Hill says. “They’re going to deliver something that’s really fun to watch, and their work is characterized by a deep love for the characters and a sense of warmth even in the coldest of films. ‘Black Telephone 2’ is pretty cold, but you can feel that warmth in the main character and the kids. If there’s a sequel, hopefully we can convince them to do it. It’ll be a good thing.”
When asked about another sequel featuring The Glover, Hill stressed that was in mind, but said he didn’t want to put the cart before the horse.
“Let’s see if people want more,” he says. “As I was doing this interview, I saw some numbers at Thursday’s screening, and they seem to be pretty good numbers. I’m pretty hopeful about where this movie will land financially. But people will vote with their money. If people want to see ‘Black Phone 3,’ they’ll be banging on the door to go see ‘Black Phone 2’ and let us know.”
What will the next chapter be like?
“One of the interesting things about ‘Black Telephone’ is that the first story is about Finny being in danger and his sister trying to save him,” Hill says. “He’s the main character and she’s an important secondary character. But in this movie, there’s a flip where Gwen is the main character and her brother tries to save her. To me, the logical thing is that if there’s a third movie, they’re a double star and they sit down and try to save each other. Maybe there’s a way to do that, maybe there’s not…We’ll have to see.”
Watch the trailer for “Black Phone 2” below.
