Filmmaker Marcus Dunstan, who is the screenwriter and director of both movies of The Collector franchise, confirmed that a third movie The Collector 3, also known as The Collected on IMDb, is finally coming after a 12-year wait.
The series follows a serial killer with a penchant for traps named The Collector, who tends always to keep a victim alive to add to his collection–before gruesomely killing them anyway. The first film was released in 2009, and its sequel was released three years later in 2012.
In 2021, Dunstan revealed to The Thing With Two Heads podcast that The Collector 3 actually filmed for eight days before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down production. Things never picked back up from there.
Speaking with Screen Rant in 2022, director Marcus Dunstan shared a rather bleak update on the third film. The filmmaker noted that while "[they've] got hope," the process has "been slow and [he] think[s] there's a lot of things to untangle" due to complicated legal issues.
The Collector 3 Is Happening, For Real
In an exclusive interview with The Direct's Russ Milheim, The Collector director Marcus Dunstan revealed that The Collector 3 is finally happening.
"As of about four days ago," Dunstan explained, "the legal elements that were holding it back were all alleviated," and that "The Collector is coming back:"
"As of about four days ago, the legal elements holding it back were all alleviated. And it is coming back, I can tell you. Shout it loud and proud: The Collector is coming back. It is free. It is going to be a barreling freight train for your mind of fear. Yes, we can do it right!"
When pressed for more details about what a third movie would look like, Dunstan teased that "it's too early to tell [details]:"
"I'll give you the full confession. So, now that we've got this miracle that's taken five years to happen, now we have to be strategic about when to dole out parcels like that. So I would say it's too early to tell you something. But, like, if it was coming out in two weeks. Yeah, I'd tell you... Right away, I want to say, courtesy of a gentleman named Todd, who's spent five years getting these rights all sorted out, It's coming back."
Though the filmmaker insisted how they aim to put out "the best one" possible, and one that "is in honor of the time we've been waiting:"
"And we're not bringing it back until it's something that we feel is the best one. And that we feel is in honor of the time we've been waiting because we haven't been waiting on the bench just staring at the sky. We've been conceiving and concocting. Yeah, here it comes. And we want to honor this opportunity with something great."
What Can Fans Expect In The Collector 3
Many feel it’s about time for The Collector 3 to finally come. While Friday the 13th fans might still be left waiting for another movie in their beloved franchise, The Collector fans can now rest easy knowing more is for sure on the way.
But what exactly does a third film look like?
With the escalation of the first and second films, a dramatic increase in scale and stakes seems fitting. The title The Collected, which is likely not final, implies that the story could focus on a group of those who have survived different encounters with the titular killer.
Perhaps these people could even be put together in a big trap, with one final survivor left to make it out––his holy grail, as it were.
Needless to say, the expectations are sky-high for whatever Marcus Dunstan and his team have planned.
The Collector can currently be streamed on Amazon Studios' Prime Video, while The Collection can be found on Plex.
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