The following story contains massive spoilers about the ENDING of The Cabin in the Woods. Stop reading now if you haven't yet seen the movie, and seriously, go see that movie!
Drew Goddard's The Cabin in the Woods doesn't really lend itself to sequels. Spinoffs, maybe. But by the end of the film, the massive experiment being conducted in a secret laboratory that's meant to appease the gods with sacrifices has failed. And the gods are rising. Still, sequels are the norm in horror franchises, and the death of the leads usually doesn't matter (think how many times Jason or Freddy have been killed on screen, and they just keep coming back). But when asked about a Cabin in the Woods sequel, Goddard shot the notion down, explaining:
We had some crazy ideas but Joss [Whedon] and I both felt strongly that we didn't want to do it just to do it. Right? I'm very lucky that I get to keep making movies, I don't need to just go make a sequel for the sake of making a sequel. The only way we could do it is if we could do it justice, and the truth is, it's a hard one to do justice to. Every version of continuing the story undercuts the ending that we had in Cabin, and I just feel like that continues to be the perfect ending for that movie and I never want to undercut it.
Drew Goddard is out promoting his new movie, Bad Times at the El Royale, an unconventional crime noir centered around a handful of fascinating and mysterious characters. And El Royale is EXACTLY the type of original and fresh-voiced stories that Drew Goddard should be doing instead of cranking out Cabin in the Woods sequels that undercut the original film. He basically gives Fandango the perfect answer as to why he and co-writer Joss Whedon didn't try to extend the story of the original film. They came up with the perfect ending. Leave it at that.
Of course, Drew Goddard leaves the door open, telling Fandango:
I mean, look, I never say never, either. I've learned, tomorrow, that a bolt of lightning could strike and you could think of an idea that does the first one justice, but I haven't quite had that idea yet, I haven't had the idea yet that makes me go, 'Oh, we have to drop everything and do that now.'
The one idea that seems like it could work would be a spinoff movie that focuses on a different laboratory in another country. We saw hints of other "games" being played on unsuspecting horror victims, and new stories could be told in that fashion. But again, knowing the ending of The Cabin in the Woods, we'd all be working toward the inevitable. Do you agree? Or do you want to see a sequel in this universe, no matter what? Vote in our poll.
This poll is no longer available.
