The last few years have been excellent for horror fans. The genre has come back in a major way, and few films epitomize that resurgence more than Get Out. Jordan Peele's foray into the realm of terror proved itself a landmark box office hit when it debuted in February, and that success has forced many to start wondering about a potential sequel. I recently had the opportunity to ask Get Out's Lil Rel Howery about the possibility of another film, and while he doesn't think a sequel should materialize, he's definitely on board for a prequel exploring the history of the brain-stealing Armitage family and Rose's (Allison Williams) grandparents. The comedian explained:
I think about this a lot, because I don't think we should do a sequel in my opinion. The only thing I would be interested in is a prequel, a little bit. Even though they do the video where they talk about it -- but it would be interesting to see how dark this grandfather really was, and what made that decision happen. How long do you have to prepare to even do something like this? It's very interesting. I'm a prequel guy, but to do Get Out 2? I kind of think we should leave it alone.
Speaking shortly after Get Out hit Blu-ray and Digital, Lil Rel Howery explained that he doesn't think Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) and Rod (Howery) should go on any more adventures now that they have escaped from The Armitage estate (particularly after such an uplifting ending), the comedian still thinks that there's room for more story. Specifically, a closer examination of the origins of the horrific procedures that turned Rose's grandparents into Frankenstein-esque monsters. It's an idea that was explained in the original film but never explicitly shown in any substantial way. Instead of the sterile and professional brain transplant procedures seen in the original movie, a Get Out prequel could delve into the more barbaric and maniacal mind of a bitter white man harboring hate over losing to Jesse Owens in the 1930s. I don't know about you, but I would watch the hell out of that.
When it comes to horror movie prequels, there are a few hard and fast rules that definitely must be followed to get it right. Specifically, the origin story needs to tell an engaging narrative that shines a new light on the existing universe, while also leaving enough to the imagination that audiences can fill in the blanks with their minds. Some recent horror prequels (such as Ouija: Origin of Evil) have managed to pull this off quite well, while others have faltered in their handling of a given mythology. We're always hesitant to support a prequel, but the idea of completely moving away from Chris to explore an older Armitage generation of seems like a fantastic idea in the grand scheme of things.
Regardless of whether or not Get Out deserves the franchise treatment from a creative perspective, it's hard to deny there is a clear financial incentive to go down that path. Jordan Peele's racially charged thriller proved to be nothing less than a box office smash when it debuted in February, and its ability to garner $241.6 million worldwide against a lean $4.5 million production budget is nothing if not enticing for the folks at Universal. With such a strong bang-to-buck ratio, the prospect of a sequel likely wouldn't be a risk for the studio at this point, thus making it an easy sell from a business perspective.
Get Out is now available on Digital HD and Blu-ray. Beyond that, make sure to check out our movie premiere guide for more up to date information on the rest of 2017's theatrical releases.
