Following the massive success of Longlegs, director Osgood Perkins has spoken about the odds of the horror film getting a sequel.
Longlegs stars Maika Monroe as FBI agent Lee Harker, who is tasked with tracking down a Satan-worshipping serial killer played by an unrecognizable Nicolas Cage.
Upon release, the film was quickly deemed one of the most chilling of the year and went on to become the highest-grossing indie horror movie in North America (per Variety). With such success, it's no wonder that many are hoping for more from Longlegs.
[ Longlegs Movie Plot Summary & Spoilers Explained ]
Longlegs Director Addresses Sequel Release Prospects
Osgood Perkins first addressed whether he'd consider a Longlegs sequel prior to the film's release. The director told Dexerto that he wanted to wait and see "how [the movie] does at the box office" before committing:
"Let’s see how it does at the box office. That’s what informs all things. I think that, yes, of course, once you’ve settled on something that seems to work and people enjoy it, there’s the nagging impulse to think, 'We could probably do that again and stretch it out a little bit.'"
Longlegs has now well and truly succeeded at the box office, however, Perkins added that he wasn't necessarily interested in doing a sequel, saying there's "something glorious about leaving things alone":
"There’s also something glorious about leaving things alone, right? That’s harder to do, isn’t it? Isn’t it harder to leave something alone than it is to try to do it again?"
The ending of Longlegs certainly brought things to a conclusion with Lee killing her mother in order to put an end to Longlegs' killing spree. This resolution is part of the reason Perkins told Collider he was hesitant to do a sequel.
The director said he had thought of what was next for Lee Harker, but felt her story was "complete:"
"I've talked about it a little bit. I feel like it is complete for her. Where she has to get to at the end, her final act with her mom is the worst thing that you can do, right? Matricide, let's say, is probably the lowest form of — that's your worst moment, right? You can't be like, 'Oh, well, something else sucked worse than that.' So I think the fact that the devil gets it to this place where that's what she has to do, the devil's like, [wipes hands clean]."
In a separate interview with Den of Geek, Perkins added "I think the ending for [Lee] is about as bad as it could have turned out", insinuating there aren't many darker places he could envision for the character's future.
That being said, there is one thread left loose at the end of the movie, involving the doll belonging to Agent Carter's daughter, Ruby.
As had been established prior, the dolls were Longlegs' method of allowing the devil to infiltrate homes and possess family members, but at the end of the film, Lee and Ruby escape, leaving her doll unbroken.
This has raised questions of whether this could be something picked up in a sequel, but to that Perkins said, "not my problem" before adding, "it's contained. It's done. It's over."
[ Longlegs Movie Director Confirms What We All Suspected About the Ending ]
Where Could a Longlegs Sequel Go?
While some narrative strands of Longlegs could form the basis of a potential sequel, it seems Perkins is quite happy to leave the film as a standalone, particularly for the character of Lee, who had a satisfying conclusion to her character arc.
There's also the fact that Cage's titular serial killer died during the events of Longlegs, making a sequel featuring the same characters unlikely.
That being said, there is some connective tissue between Longlegs and Perkins' other film The Blackcoat's Daughter, which both deal with the sinister forces of the Devil and could suggest that the director's films share a universe.
Indeed one of Perkins' next projects, Keeper, involves a couple attending a getaway in a remote cabin that is haunted by a "sinister presence". While it's too early to say whether this supernatural presence will also be related to the devil, if it is it could add to the Perkins shared universe theory.
This means that a Longlegs sequel is still possible, but perhaps not in the form audiences expect.
Longlegs is available to buy or rent on digital platforms.
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