Scary Stories to Tell In The Dark 2' Gets Cryptic Update From Producers [Exclusive] - Collider

The Big Picture

• Dan & Kevin Hageman, writers and producers of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, have hinted about their efforts to keep the franchise going.
• The filmmakers have faced obstacles such as the strikes, but progress may have been made on the script for the sequel.
• The complexity of the sequel lies in creating connecting short stories that are both creepy and fit within the overall story arc.

If you're a fan of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, you've likely been waiting to hear about a sequel for quite some time now. So it's high time we heard from those responsible for the film series about what stage Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark 2 might be in. Are those conversations even happening? While promoting their series Star Trek Prodigy, which arrives on Netflix this month, producers Kevin & Dan Hageman spoke to our Lead News Editor Maggie Lovitt, and signaled that there's still hope for the franchise—they just can't tell us exactly what's going down.

During the interview, the duo revealed that they can't "speak definitively on it," and mentioned "hiccups" that weren't helped by the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike, which essentially forced all of Hollywood to recalculate and reschedule every production. While Kevin seemed more willing to reveal what was coming out of the woodwork, Dan was more emphatic about keeping any developments under wraps for now. After Dan stated they "can't say anything" about something, Kevin quickly wrapped up with:

"All I'm saying is we're in conversations talking about how to keep this franchise alive. We're fighting a good fight for it so that hopefully someday we'll see it."

'Scary Stories to Tell In The Dark' Has Been In The Works For Years, Which Is a Good Sign

Image via Lionsgate

Whatever form the franchise is taking, it's been in the works for quite a while. Back in 2022, Lovitt also tried to get some info on Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark 2, and on that occasion, Kevin revealed they were "discussing it" with filmmaker André Øvredal, who helmed the first installment. He also revealed they'd been "actively working on a script" and Paramount was in the loop about it.

Considering that the prior conversation took place in early 2022 and the WGA strike only started in early 2023, it's possible that the team made real progress in the tales that they'd cover in Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark 2. That is, of course, if they decide to stick with the original format for the sequel. In the first film, a storybook gets magically filled with horror stories that somehow end up happening in real life. This means that the script has an extra layer of complexity because the Hageman brothers have to create the overall story arcs and then, come up with short stories that connect with the main one—and they also need to be creepy enough to give us chills once again.

Stick with Collider to know more about the developments of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark 2 as soon as they are announced. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is streaming now on Hulu in the U.S.

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

On Halloween 1968, Stella and her two friends meet a mysterious drifter, Ramón, and uncover a sinister notebook of stories.

Release Date

August 9, 2019

Director

André Øvredal

Runtime

108 minutes

Writers

Dan Hageman , Kevin Hageman , Guillermo del Toro , Marcus Dunstan , Patrick Melton , Alvin Schwartz

Watch on Hulu