The director behind the Smile movies is going to ensure the hit horror franchise continues with one major trend when it returns with Smile 3.
Seen as one of the biggest new horror franchises of recent years, the Smile series of films has been able to capture audiences with a particular fervor. Fans have fallen in love with its presence online as well as both movies' "you will never see it coming" twists and turns.
This was most recently demonstrated in Smile 2, which debuted in theaters in October 2024, telling the story of a pop star who begins to experience terrifying, almost curse-like phenomena happening around her thanks to a presence known as The Entity.
Smile Director Teases One Mission For Smile 3
There is one thing Smile franchise director Parker Finn hopes to keep alive during the development of Smile 3.
In an exclusive conversation with The Direct's Russ Millheim at the 52nd Saturn Awards, Finn teased a trend he has in mind when continuing the franchise for the in-the-works third film.
"I think that it's important that Smile is really thematically and emotionally rich," he said about the upcoming Smile 3, teasing that with any Smile sequel, he wants it to continue the trend of "jumping rails in an unexpected way:"
I think that it's important that 'Smile' is really thematically and emotionally rich, that's the thing that's most important, I think, to the franchise, is that it's got something on its mind, and that maybe between films, it's kind of jumping rails in an unexpected way, like we did from one to two. And so if there is more 'Smile,' I'd want to make sure that we continue that trend."
When asked if there had been any movement on the film in the last few months, Finn noted that he is in the "same spot" as he was at the release of Smile 2 and that he just wants to "make sure that [they] get it right:"
"[We are at the] same spot, basically. If there is going to be more 'Smile,' we want to make sure that we get it right. "
While no specific release date for Smile 3 has been announced, fans know that it is coming. A production listing from December 2024 pegged the movie as filming sometime in Summer 2025, but that has not been officially confirmed by Paramount or the Smile 3 creative team (via World of Reel).
If shooting were to commence later this year, then a release somewhere around the same time as the last two films (September or October) in 2026 feels about right.
That is, if the movie's writer/director can lock everything in from a story perspective in time to make that happen.
Finn previously teased fans with a potential third movie could go, telling SFX Magazine in September 2024 that he hopes to see each Smile movie "[become] more off the rails than the previous one:"
"There are some ideas that I think are very exciting. I think it’s really fun to imagine a lineage of Smile movies where each one becomes more off the rails than the previous one."
He added that what intrigues him most about the franchise is that "you can find yourself in different stories, different characters, different worlds."
This likely means that whatever he comes up with for a third movie will again take audiences away from the cast and characters of the first two films, telling a wholly new tale set in this terrifying, scare-filled universe.
The last film's ending seemed to set up an even bigger story for a potential follow-up (if that is where Penn and co. want to take it), with the popstar at the center of Smile 2, Naomi Scott's Skye Riley, killing herself on-stage in front of a massive audience.
She did this due to the possession of the series central's Entity and could set up hundreds, maybe even thousands of fans being affected by the franchise's horrifying supernatural presence (read more about what the Smile 2 ending means here).
This could mean any one of these Skye Riley followers could serve as the main character of Smile 3; it is just a matter of who that person is and what sort of tragic backstory they will be given.
Whatever happens, as indicated by Finn himself, fans are sure to be in for a surprise when it Smile 3 does eventually see the light of day, as the direct attempts to keep up his streak of bringing forth the unexpected.
The full interview can be seen here:
Smile 2 is streaming on Paramount+.
