The Fede Alvarez-directed, Sam Raimi-produced film DON'T BREATHE provided a great theatrical viewing experience and was packed with suspense and violence that had my heart pounding at times. It was also a box office success, earning over $150 million worldwide on a budget just under $10 million. Combine that with the fact that the film didn't have the most definitive ending, and you know what comes next: the powers that be are talking sequel.
The fear now would be that a DON'T BREATHE 2 would be uninspired and slapped together, but it sounds like Alvarez has come up with an idea worth exploring. In fact, during a recent chat with IGN Alavarez and Raimi displayed so much enthusiasm for the idea that it has already gotten me excited to see the movie happen.
Alvarez admitted that he wasn't interested in making a sequel until this story possibility occurred to him:
Right now we have Don't Breathe 2 as something we really want to do. The challenge obviously is we just don't want to do the same movie again and just have 2 in it. We'll feel so embarrassed if we do that. At first our reaction when they told us was no no no no no that's Hollywood, that's the devil pushing us to do something just because we can. And then we had an idea that we got really excited about, we won't tell you what it is, it'll spoil the whole thing…"
That's when Raimi chimed in with his thoughts on it:
It's only the greatest idea for a sequel I've ever heard. I'm not kidding."
This is when my hype begins to build. There is a reason to hold back at "cautious optimism", though. Sony hasn't officially given DON'T BREATHE 2 a green light yet, and Alvarez hasn't yet pitched his sequel idea, which he says takes an "anarchic approach", to the studio. Raimi laughed that the studio isn't going to like it at all – and if Sony doesn't like the idea it might never see the light of day. This wouldn't be the first time Alvarez/Raimi sequel plans didn't come to fruition; after their collaboration on EVIL DEAD 2013, they were talking about Alvarez making a sequel to that film, Raimi making an ARMY OF DARKNESS 2, then making another EVIL DEAD movie where Alvarez's heroine Mia would team up with Raimi's hero Ash. All of that was scrapped, but at least we have the Ash vs. Evil Dead TV show now, which I think is even better than those plans. There's not such a silver lining if Alvarez isn't able to make his "best sequel idea ever" DON'T BREATHE 2.
The DON'T BREATHE 2 conversation ended with Alvarez saying,
(Sony is) going to freak out when they find out, but we're excited about that. We're probably going to start writing pretty soon. If I love it, I might direct it as well. We'll see what happens. It's exciting to see a character you want to see more out of it. At least I do. I'd love to see the blind man on the screen do some other things. What's going to happen with him in his life?"
Written by Alvarez and Rodo Sayagues, DON'T BREATHE stars Stephen Lang, Jane Levy, Daniel Zovatto, and Dylan Minnette, and has the following synopsis:
Three teens who get away with perfectly planned home robberies have set their sights on one last payout that will get them out of crime forever. Their target: a reclusive blind man with millions of dollars in hiding. But as soon as they break into his home, the tables are turned and they find themselves trapped and fighting for survival against a psychopath with secrets of his own.
If Alvarez does direct DON'T BREATHE 2 himself, it will have to wait until after he's done with his next project, a sequel to THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO titled THE GIRL IN THE SPIDER'S WEB.
In the meantime, DON'T BREATHE is scheduled to be released on DVD and Blu-ray on November 29th. You can pre-order a copy right here.