“Final Destination: Bloodlines” was a fun horror romp, and easily one of the better instalments of what looked like a dead franchise. The reviews were strong, and audiences showed up.
There was almost zero chance a sequel wouldn’t be greenlit after that success. Warner Bros. and New Line have no intention of trying to stop it.
So, it comes as not much of a surprise that a follow-up to the horror hit is officially in the works, with ‘Bloodlines’ co-writer Lori Evans Taylor returning to pen the next instalment. The hiring comes after ‘Bloodlines,’ released in May, grossed over $286M at the worldwide box office—$138M of that domestically—against a $50M budget. These movies can be done cheap, and with B-movie actors — Nirvana for studio heads.
‘Bloodlines’ was the sixth instalment of the horror franchise and the first one since 2011. It was by far the most successful outing of the movie series, with its domestic total more than double the next movie down, 2009’s “The Final Destination.”
‘Bloodline’ introduced a new generation of unlucky souls, as a college student (Kaitlyn Santa Juana) finds herself trapped in the franchise’s signature kill-or-be-killed death loop, but this time the family tree is involved.
Taylor was a key player on the script, which was co-written with Guy Busick (“Ready or Not”) — no word if he’s coming back— from a story by Taylor, Busick, and Jon Watts, the “Spider-Man: No Way Home” director who was creatively involved with Bloodlines.
With momentum clearly on their side, Warner Bros. and New Line are betting big on keeping the franchise alive and thriving. The way ‘Bloodlines’ was so quickly shot and edited, we can probably expect the next chapter to arrive very soon.