Dylan Gelula may be best known for playing the role of Xanthippe Voorhees in 13 episodes of the Netflix series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt… but since I haven’t gotten around to watching that show yet, where I know her from is the recent Nicolas Cage movie Dream Scenario, where her character has a very memorable interaction with Cage. Since Gelula’s section of the movie is also the part that sticks with me more than any other, I’m glad to hear (via Deadline) that she has been cast in writer/director Parker Finn’s sequel to his 2022 horror film Smile (read our review HERE, watch the movie HERE) – a project we’re referring to as Smile 2 until we hear otherwise. The film is aiming for an October 18, 2024 theatrical release date, so they need to get this one into production very soon.
Plot details are being kept under wraps, but we know Gelula joins a cast that already includes Naomi Scott of Aladdin and Charlie’s Angels, Lukas Gage of The White Lotus and You, Rosemarie DeWitt of La La Land and the Poltergeist remake, and Kyle Gallner (Red State), reprising the role he played in the first movie.
Smile was based on Finn’s short film Laura Hasn’t Slept (watch it HERE), which won the Special Jury Recognition Prize in SXSW’s Midnight Short category. Caitlin Stasey (Neighbours) played the title character in that short, and reprises the role in Smile, making it a follow-up of sorts. Smile has the following synopsis: After witnessing a bizarre, traumatic incident involving a patient, Dr. Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon) starts experiencing frightening occurrences that she can’t explain. As an overwhelming terror begins taking over her life, Rose must confront her troubling past in order to survive and escape her horrifying new reality.
Stasey was joined in the cast by Sosie Bacon, Kal Penn, Kyle Gallner, Jessie T. Usher, Rob Morgan, Judy Reyes, and Gillian Zinser.
Smile was produced by Temple Hill, and they are producing Smile 2 as well.
Finn has previously said that he feels there’s a lot of interesting stuff left to explore in the world of Smile. “I would never want to just repeat myself or retread the same ground. I’d want to make sure that there’s a new, exciting, fresh way into it that the audience isn’t anticipating. I also want to find some new ways to scare them and unnerve them. But as far as how it may connect to the first one, I’d want that to be surprising as well.“
Have you seen Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and/or Dream Scenario? What do you think of Dylan Gelula being cast in Smile 2? Let us know by leaving a comment below.