David F. Sandberg showed real promise when he broke out with the lean and inventive “Lights Out” in 2016, but instead of carving his own path in horror, he’s been swallowed up by the machinery of studio IP. First it was “Annabelle: Creation,” then the “Shazam!” films for DC, and finally another branded property with “Until Dawn” and the upcoming “Amityville Horror” reboot.
This is to say, and according to THR, New Line has hired newcomer Connor Osborne McIntyre to write the screenplay for a “Lights Out” sequel. There’s no word on whether Sandberg will helm it, but “Lights Out” was based on his original 2013 short — so he might have a say here.
Osborne wrote the screenplay for Ben Affleck’s upcoming “Animals,” and had his Black List screenplay, “American Midnight,” recently optioned by Netflix.
“Lights Out” taps into the primal fear of darkness by centering its plot on a supernatural entity, Diana, who can only attack when the lights are off, forcing a family to constantly seek sources of light to survive. While the narrative itself is relatively thin, the film succeeded through inventive uses of light-based tension and some creative jump scares.
“Lights Out” proved hugely profitable for New Line, earning $149M worldwide against a production budget of under $5M. Over the years, the studio has made multiple attempts to get a sequel off the ground, with Eric Heisserer and Chris Borrelli each drafting versions of the screenplay.
Obviously, no plot details are available at this time for the sequel, and since the script is currently being written, there’s no production start date either.
Lars Von Trier is working on the 15th—and likely final—film of his career, “After,” and according to his producer, Peter Aalbæk Jensen, the screenplay is supposed to be completed this month