Shockingly, it’s been seven years since we last checked in with Tree, Babyface, and the Happy Death Day Universe.
As we’ve reported numerous times over the years, the series was always intended to be a trilogy, with filmmaker Christopher Landon having a clear vision of events.
In fact, just a few months ago, series star Jessica Rothe announced she was working closely with Landon on a script and story. According to Rothe, she and Landon were putting in a lot of “legwork” trying to make Happy Death Day 3 a reality.
Now, Rothe is again issuing an update on the progress she and Landon have made. However, she has been clear that a sequel all depends on one thing… money.
Rothe said:
“So, Chris Landon and I have actually broken the whole story, which was really fun. We went to an undisclosed location—a Le Pain Quotidien in between our houses—and sat there for hours and broke the third movie.”
The star concluded:
“Now, we’re just waiting for Universal and Blumhouse to [give us] just a little money. You heard it here first.”
So, things seem ready to go with Happy Death Day 3, should Universal and Blumhouse come forward with the cash.
Sadly, it doesn’t seem likely that a third movie will receive funding, given the severe underperformance of 2019’s Happy Death Day 2 U. Whilst Landon’s 2017 original was an enormous success, grossing $137 on a micro budget of $4.8 million, the sequel didn’t fare so well.
Although the $9 million budget of Happy Death Day 2 U was still relatively small, Universal put a sizeable amount into marketing the sequel. This likely pushed the budget past $20 million, and given that the movie grossed $60 million, the profit margin was rather small.
This was enough for the studio to put the initial trilogy plans on ice.
However, has the fan demand over the intervening 7 years swayed the powers that be? Rothe seems to think so.
However, we’ll have to wait and see.
