When It Follows hit cinemas back in 2014, it was very different. Unlike every other horror flick about teenagers making bad decisions, it was a slow-burn fever dream with layers of meaning. Maika Monroe, who played Jay, the cursed 19-year-old stalked by a supernatural entity after a casual hookup, became an instant scream queen. Ten years later, she’s finally talking about the long-rumoured sequel, They Follow, and yes, it’s actually moving forward. Maybe. Probably. Okay—hopefully.
Speaking with Discussing Film, Monroe confirmed she’s read the script for It Follows 2, and she sounds genuinely impressed. “I was sent the script and I thought it was incredible. It’s also very different from the original,” she said. “I felt the original was a little more heightened and dramatic, and this I think is really quite grounded.”
The word “grounded” isn’t exactly what you expect to hear when describing a movie about a shape-shifting STD ghost, but the filmmakers are clearly going for something very different here again. Monroe continued, “(The sequel) follows the story of these two women that are just mentally dealing with a lot. I thought it was a really interesting take on it. Fingers crossed it happens, next year is the rumor.”
So, next year. After years of silence, shifting production dates, and reports that the whole thing was dead, this is the most promising update we’ve had. They Follow was originally expected to film in late 2024, then early 2025. Now, we have a hopeful 2026 date.
Director David Robert Mitchell is once again behind the camera and penning the script. That alone should ease any doubts. Mitchell’s original film was a masterpiece (that has since climbed up horror movie charts). It was a haunting blend of surrealism and horror that called back to early John Carpenter. Few horror movies of the past decade have matched its quiet intensity or its hypnotic sense of doom. The guy knows how to make your skin crawl without cheap jump scares.
Monroe is set to reprise her role as Jay, ten years older and presumably still haunted by her spectral stalker.
Until They Follow is officially announced, you can catch Monroe in Hulu’s The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, streaming October 22.
RELATED: The Best Horror Movie From Each Decade (1920s to 2020s)
