We are currently in the midst of what I’m personally willing to classify as “Terrifier fever.” Director Damien Leone’s Terrifier 3 recently hit theaters and, against all odds, wound up topping the box office last weekend. It means Art the Clown has joined the big leagues and can now be considered a true modern slasher icon. So, how long will this franchise continue now that it’s bigger than ever? We know we’re at least getting one more film. At the same time, Leone has no intention of dragging this out with four or five more sequels.
During a recent conversation with DiscussingFilm, Leone was asked about the future of the series. While we’ve seen other slashers do some wild things, such as Jason Voorhees going to space in Jason X or Chucky literally going to the White House in the final season of Chucky, the filmmaker doesn’t want to risk jumping the shark, it seems. Here’s what he had to say about it:
“On one level, I would absolutely love to see him in space or go to Las Vegas or the Wild West. But I can’t imagine it going past two more movies. For me, personally, as a storyteller, I think that my well is going to eventually run dry, plainly because I pack so much into each movie. These movies have more — I don’t like throwing the word ‘epic’ out there — but they’re designed differently.
Leone previously said that Terrifier 4 will be an “epic closure to this Art the Clown saga.” While it seems like that could extend and become a two-part finale, either way, it appears as though the director is mindful of bringing things to a close. “There is no definitive answer at this time regarding how many more films I will make before concluding the Terrifier saga,” Leone recently clarified on Twitter. Though he reiterated that he “I can’t see it going further than one or two more films.”
Who knows what will happen? Hollywood is certainly going to be beating down his door in light of the most recent film’s success. Money talks and if properly motivated from a financial point of view, Art the Clown could live on for years to come. But Leone maintains a ton of creative control here so if he wants to close out this saga, it’s ultimately his call to make. So as fun as it might seem on paper, don’t expect to see Terrifier 7: Art the Clown in Space coming to a theater near you in 2034.
Terrifier 3 is in theaters now. For more, take a deep dive into the Terrifier 2 novelization.
