The Black Phone Sequel is Happening with Original Cast Returning

The Black Phone Sequel is Happening with Original Cast Returning

After the announcement that Scott Derrickson‘s The Black Phone will be returning for a sequel, Universal Studios and Blumhouse have shared that the main cast will be returning for the second film — including Ethan Hawke‘s mysterious antagonist The Grabber. Deadline reported that the film, slated for a theatrical release date on June 27, 2025 will see some of the major cast members returning.

The unnamed project will be the third time Hawke and Derrickson have teamed up together, after the first The Black Phone film and the Sinister. As for his relationship with Blumhouse, The Black Phone sequel marks the ninth time the actor has teamed up with the studio, as he’s worked in The Purge, In a Valley of Violence, Adopt a Highway, Hamlet, and Stockholm.

The original film follows the story of a 13-year-old boy named Finney. He lives with his abusive father, Terrence, and his younger sister, Gwen, who has strong psychic abilities. Their town is plagued by a series of child abductions and murder, and one day the person behind the abductions, called The Grabber, comes for Finney.

The young boy gets locked in a soundproof basement in one of the houses in his neighborhood. And while the police tirelessly search for him, his sister uses her abilities to try and find her missing brother, much to the anger of her father. During his time in the basement, Finney gets phone calls from other child victims on the disconnected phone in the room.

Mason Thames portrays Finney, Madeleine McGraw as Gwen, and Jeremy Davies plays their father, Terrence. All three are set to reprise their roles as it’s clear that Hawke’s character, The Grabber, is not done with the family and might lure in some other unsuspecting victims, leaving nothing but black balloons behind. The film is based on a 2004 short story by Joe Hill that follows the same events as told in the film with a slight change to The Grabber’s appearance.

The success of The Black Phone turned the film into a horror classic, with fans flocking to the allure of the mysterious character The Grabber. What makes him so enticing is not knowing anything about the character, as his motivations are purely his own.

Most horror films will build up their antagonists so that audiences can understand their motives and sometimes even attempt to bring a human element to the character. However, The Black Phone does the exact opposite and leads to suggest that there’s nothing human about The Grabber.

With no way of humanizing The Grabber or even understanding his motives, Hawke took the character and the very haunting look of The Grabber to deliver a memorable performance that is sure to be welcomed with open arms in another entry to the film.