We have been eagerly anticipating release information for PHANTASM: RAVAGER, the fifth installment in the PHANTASM franchise, ever since the project’s existence snuck up on us back in March of 2014. What has made this nearly two year wait all the more rough to endure is the fact that we heard way back then that the sequel had already been filmed. Earlier this week, word came out that the delay is partly due to the fact that series creator Don Coscarelli is currently putting his focus on a 4K restoration of the original, 1979 PHANTASM that’s being spearheaded by J.J. Abrams.
Talking to Entertainment Weekly, Coscarelli has now revealed that both the PHANTASM restoration and post-production work on PHANTASM: RAVAGER are “pretty much done” and that a release for both is a possibility for the first or second quarter of 2016. When that time comes, they may even be released as a theatrical double feature.
Coscarelli also dropped some new details on RAVAGER, calling it “a swan song to the series.”
“Almost every one of the original cast is back. They’re all great in it. Angus Scrimm is magnificent. There’s some new iterations of those brain-shucking spheres and a lot of good struff that the fans will enjoy. It ties up a lot of the storylines and answers some questions that fans have had.”
The filmmaker says he has been listening to the fans over the years, taking into account the questions they have asked online and at conventions when writing the RAVAGER screenplay with the film’s director, David Hartman. For example, because of the interest fans have expressed in learning more about the planet the evil Tall Man (Angus Scrimm) is from, RAVAGER features an extended sequence set on that mysterious red planet.
It’s been a long wait for PHANTASM: RAVAGER, but its time is drawing near.
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