The 2022 reboot of Hellraiser was one of the best horror movies of that year. When it was released to those with a Hulu subscription, critics were high on the scary revamp as were general audiences. That buzz seemingly sparked anticipation for a follow-up that would expand upon the franchise. Following director David Bruckner's expression of interest in a sequel last year, fans have been keenly awaiting updates. Now, producer Keith Levine has been questioned about the possibility of another installment, and though no official announcement has been made, he offered an update.
Keith Levine recently chatted with Comicbook.com while promoting his latest film, The First Omen and took the time to shed some light on Hellraiser's potential future. Needless to say, the producer’s comments should provide a beacon of hope for those yearning for a return of the Hell Priestess and her sadistic entourage of cenobites. He had this to say:
Yeah. We are trying to do a follow-up and there have been conversations. I can't exactly say where we're at in those conversations, but Bruckner is involved in those conversations and we spent a lot of time and energy, I think relaunching that world. A lot of brainpower going into crafting the Cenobite design, figuring out how we're going to pull them off, and we learned so much.
Director David Bruckner's involvement in these preliminary discussions signals a unified vision for the franchise’s future. Hopefully, that'll mean that if a sequel happens, it could potentially surpass its predecessor in both horror and storytelling. Keith Levine further elaborated on the creative process behind the scenes, emphasizing the meticulous effort that went into reviving the cenobites for a modern audience:
And I think moving forward, we love that all that knowledge is sort of banked and that time has been spent. So we think that moving forward and going into another movie is just going to be even crazier and even more awesome. So yeah, that's something we're definitely hard at work on, and hope we will have more news soon.
The prospect of a “crazier” sequel for a franchise already renowned for being one of the goriest film series since the 1980s is music to my scary movie-loving ears.
While there's no official confirmation of a new Hellraiser flick just yet, the enthusiasm from the creative team makes me optimistic that it's only a matter of time before we see our favorite bondage-wearing demons returning to our screens sometime soon. Until then, we will have to enjoy the 2022 reboot, which happens to be one of the best movies on Hulu.
As for Keith Levine’s latest production, The First Omen it's an upcoming horror movie and prequel to the 70s horror flick classic The Omen. Directed by Arkasha Stevenson, it follows an American woman who's sent to work at a church in Rome and uncovers a sinister conspiracy to bring about the birth of the Antichrist. You can see the movie when it hits theaters on April 5th as part of the 2024 movie schedule. Of course, you can also revisit the first two OG Hellraiser flicks, which are available to stream with a Prime Video subscription.
