Happy Death Day (watch it HERE) and Happy Death Day 2U (watch that one HERE) director Christopher Landon let it be known as soon as Happy Death Day 2U was released that he had plans for a Happy Death Day 3 (which would be called Happy Death Day to Us). But while Happy Death Day had earned a sequel by making over $125 million at the global box office on a budget that was just under $5 million, the third film hasn’t happened because Happy Death Day 2U only made $64 million. That’s pretty good for a movie that cost $9 million… but distributor Universal Pictures was apparently hesitant to make a follow-up to movie that made so much less than its predecessor. That’s why seven years have gone by without the third film going into production… but franchise star Jessica Rothe assures that “if” we’ll ever get a Happy Death Day 3 isn’t a question, it’s “just a matter of when.”
Refresher
Here’s a reminder of what happened in the previous two movies: In Happy Death Day, Teresa “Tree” Gelbman’s birthday is the worst day of her life, starting when she wakes up in a stranger’s bed. It’s also the last day of her life, ending when she’s killed by a psychotic killer with a knife. She’s dead. And then she wakes up in a stranger’s bed, it’s September 18, and she has to live it all over again . . . until she’s hunted down and wakes up, again, and again. It’s a Groundhog Day situation, only with murder, guns, and mean girls, and Tree’s only shot at living to see the next day is to relive the day of her murder, over and over, until she discovers her killer’s identity.
Happy Death Day 2U picks up the story without missing a beat. Tree Gelbman thought she’d finally lived to see a brand-new day. But when she wakes up on her same birthday and an all-new psychopath in a mask is out to kill her and her friends, she’s going to find out that all the rules have changed. Death makes a killer comeback.
Landon has said that there was talk about turning Happy Death Day 3 into a three-part Peacock streaming event “years ago,” but that idea didn’t go anywhere. There have also been musings about a crossover between characters from Happy Death Day and another Landon slasher, Freaky. But Landon said that was just a fun thought that had been thrown around and there is no treatment in mind for a crossover.
Happy Death Day 3 / Happy Death Day to Us is the movie he really wants to make. A year ago, Landon and Rothe both said the sequel was “moving forward,” but we haven’t heard anything more about it since then.
Update
Rothe was asked for an update on the sequel’s status during an interview with Screen Rant and said, “I think, at this point, it’s just logistics. All I’ll say to you and to all the fans is, whether it’s next year or when I’m 65, pulling a Jamie Lee Curtis coming back for Halloween, I will be there to finish Tree’s story. So it’s just a matter of when they get all their ducks in a row.“
Are you looking forward to Happy Death Day 3 / Happy Death Day to Us, and are you hoping the film will make it into production soon? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
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