In 2016, Fede Alvarez's Don't Breathe became one of the best surprise hits of the year. The movie doesn't sport any A-listers, and it isn't part of a larger franchise, but audiences ended up being exceptionally curious about the twist-filled home invasion horror film upon its release, and that curiosity resulted in the movie making an impressive $157.8 million worldwide by the time it was done playing on the big screen. A sequel was put into development almost immediately, and while it's taken a few years to finally get here, now Don't Breathe 2 is just a few weeks away, and we are more excited than ever for the follow-up thanks to the brand new trailer above.
Co-written by Fede Alvarez and Rodo Sayagues (with Sayagues sitting in the director's chair this time around), Don't Breathe 2 is set eight years after the first movie, and finds Norman Nordstrom (Stephen Lang) – the villain from the first movie – experiencing a strange level of peace. While he doesn't have a child of his own, he has a kind of new family thanks to the presence of 11-year-old Phoenix (Madelyn Grace), whom he cares for like a daughter. One night, Nordstrom unfortunately once again finds himself the victim of another home invasion, but the big difference this time around is not only that the crew isn't a trio of young punks trying to steal some money, but instead violent and aggressive individuals who seem to know exactly what they are going up against when squaring off against the blind Nordstrom.
Watching this trailer, and keeping in mind the horrific events featured in Don't Breathe, you might be surprised to see that Nordstrom seems to be positioned in Don't Breathe 2 as a protagonist – but you probably shouldn't get too comfortable with that read. During a trailer preview event this week, Fede Alvarez (who is a producer in addition to co-writer) was asked about what seemed to be a kind of perspective shift for the sequel, and the filmmaker assured the audience that the follow-up is going to seriously challenge expectations and that the character is most definitely in no way a "hero." Said Alvarez,
If you learn anything from the first movie, you should learn not to think based on some set up what's really going on... it's not until really the end that you really put it together.
While we've waited quite a long time for Don't Breathe 2 (it was all the way back in November 2016 that producer Sam Raimi referred to it as the greatest sequel idea he's ever heard), now it is set to arrive in less than two months. Featuring a cast that includes Brendan Sexton III, Adam Young, and Rocci Williams in addition to the aforementioned Stephen Lang and Madelyn Grace, the horror sequel will be heading to theaters on August 13 – and you can see what else is ahead from the film world for the rest of the year by scoping out our 2021 Movie Release Calendar.
