Aahana Swrup
David F. Sandberg’s ‘Until Dawn’ presents a thrilling horror film, where danger is around every corner. It follows the story of Clover and her group of teenage friends, who are on a road trip to find her missing sister, Melanie. The last stop on their trip brings the squad to an eerie, half-buried, half-forgotten town of Glore Valley. Once they enter a remote, lone building in the area, things take an adverse turn, trapping the teenagers in a never-ending time loop, wherein new horrors kill them with every reset.
Eventually, the reveal of a cruel psychiatrist, Dr. Hill, and his twisted experiment allows Clover and her friends to escape the nightmarish cabin. Yet, before the credits roll in, the narrative subtly implies the survival of menacing evil and its plans for the future. Even though the story clearly sets itself up for a sequel, no future installment has yet been greenlit for the franchise. In the event that an official announcement arrives soon, fans can expect a sequel to hit the screens in late 2026.
Until Dawn Could Explore More Horror Tropes in a Potential Sequel
‘Until Dawn’ leaves plenty of room open for the narrative to be picked up again for a continuation. Clover and her friends all survive the night and fight their way out of Glore Valley and its horrifying time loop. Similarly, even though Dr. Hill suffers an explicit on-screen death, the ending insinuates a continuation for his character and his evil ways. Consequently, there are a number of avenues that a future installation can employ. Still, regardless of where the storyline goes, fans can confidently expect one thing to stay the same: the narrative’s commitment to the horror genre. One of the most crucial aspects that informed the first film’s identity stemmed from its ability to reference multiple horror tropes at once.
The film has everything, from masked killers, body horror, and scary witches, to supernatural creatures. Thus, whatever way a potential sequel unfolds, there’s bound to be a deeper dive into well-known eerie cliches, tropes, and sub-genres. In a conversation with Variety, director David F. Sandberg discussed the same. He shared, “(But) You could so easily make more of them (‘Until Dawn’ movies) because there are more horror genres and tropes you could have fun with. You could even just have new characters or the same characters in different places.” Therefore, if the sequel decides to go an anthology route with the cabin as the fixed link, or even follow Clover and her friends for another misadventure, we can expect more examination and scrutiny of the overarching horror genre.
Until Dawn 2 Might Find a More Direct Connection to the Video Game
‘Until Dawn’ is a film that exists in the same universe as the eponymous 2015 video game. However, intriguingly enough, it isn’t a direct adaptation. Instead, the cinematic project explores the mythology of the overarching franchise through crucial narrative elements. Dr. Hill, the psychiatrist behind the horror house, remains he most prominent point of connection between the two pieces of media. Therefore, his hinted survival could mean big things for a potential sequel. The ending of the first installment features a mysterious car arriving outside a cabin that is under the surveillance of an intriguing personality who is most likely Hill.
For the same reason, there has been some discussion about whether this scene is a getaway to the narrative of the 2015 video game, which features Josh Washington as the main lead. Thus, if a second installment decides to play with the ending scene’s implication, then we can expect the film franchise to become much more connected to its source material. The story can continue on through an actual direct adaptation of the game’s storyline or a continuation of its aftermath. Gary Dauberman, the film’s screenwriter, shared his support for a similar idea and said, “What we want to try is not to make the video games over here and then the movies over here. It’d be cool if they’re all part of the same stew, so they don’t feel like they’re on separate tracks. They’re actually on the same track, pushing the story further and further. That would be my hope.”
The Until Dawn 2 Cast Could be an Unpredictable Mixed Bag
Given the diverse potential avenues that a possible sequel to ‘Until Dawn’ can take, the specifics of the project will likely remain a surprise for some time. If the story chooses to stick with Clover and her friends, we might see a return for most of the main cast from the first movie. This would mean that Ella Rubin, Michael Cimino, Odessa A’zion, Ji-young Yoo, and Belmont Cameli all have a pretty promising chance of returning. Since these core five characters informed the emotional center of the story, their reprisal of their roles would add continuity and a sense of familiarity to the franchise.
However, if the sequel chooses to take a more faithful route to the ‘Until Dawn’ video game, there might be a big shift in the cast list. A sequel could bring new faces into the fold to play the roles of familiar characters from the game. Alternatively, there might also be a chance that original actors, Rami Malek, Hayden Panettiere, Jordan Fisher, and more might make an appearance, depending on the scale of the project. Either way, if fans can rely on one actor to likely remain a consistent force between the two movies, it’s Peter Stormare, who plays the role of Dr. Hill.
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