Death is inevitable, and apparently, so is theFinal Destinationfranchise. Following the massive success of the most recent installment,Final Destination Bloodlines, New Line Cinema is going back to the well for more with some help from one of that film’s writers.A new reportconfirmed that a sequel is happening, withLori Evans Taylorset to pen the screenplay. Franchise producer and stewardCraig Perryand franchise veteran Sheila Hanahan Taylor are also back in the fold as producers, alongsideJon Wattsand his wife,Dianne McGunigle, andToby Emmerich.
A follow-up toBloodlinesis no shocker, considering that the sixth installment set a franchise record at the box office by a country mile. Released back in May, it raked in a staggering $285.3 million globally against a budget of only $50 million, all whilegarnering rave reviewsfrom critics and audiences alike with a Certified Fresh 93% and Verified Hot 87% respectively on Rotten Tomatoes. By comparison, the next most profitable installment,The Final Destinationin 2009, only mustered $187.3 million. It proved to be a much-needed shot in the arm for a series thathadn’t seen a new film since 2011.
Taylor had both co-written the screenplay and developed the story forBloodlines, picking up the pen alongsideGuy Busickand working with Busick and Watts on the story. Together, the team tookFinal Destinationin a new direction,setting Death’s gaze on an entire familyfollowing an incident in which the grandmother, Iris (Gabrielle Rose/Brec Bassinger), had a premonition in the 1960s that saved everyone at a party from a deadly high-rise accident. In the present day, the family membersare slowly picked off one by one, with college student Stefani (Kaitlyn Santa Juana) experiencing a violent recurring nightmare of her grandmother’s incident. To save her family, she sets out to find the one person who can break the cycle, all as more people perish in ways thatare as brutal as they are creative. Nothing is known about the plot of Taylor’s follow-up or how it’ll tie intoBloodlinesyet.
Will the ‘Bloodlines’ Directors Return for ‘Final Destination 7’?
Currently, the director’s chair is also left empty for the newFinal Destinationmovie.Zach LipovskyandAdam Steinjoined forces to helm the last installment, though, as they told Collider’sPerri Nemiroffearlier this year, they feel likethey mostly emptied the tankin their turn at crafting Death’s twisted designs. They didn’t fully close the door, however, adding that they’d be open to a return for a story that “demanded” to be made, if they could think of another two hours of insanity to give viewers. Whatever comes next would have to follow a new crop of characters since, spoilers, Iris’s bloodlinecomes to an end by the time the credits roll. It also, sadly, would be without franchise veteranTony Todd, who wasgiven a lovely sendoffin what would be one of his final film roles. For now, the future is in Taylor’s hands, though she’s shown to be more than capable, previously writing and directing theMelissa BarreraflickBed Restin addition to writingBloodlines.
Stay tuned here at Collider for Destination 7as development gets underway. In the meantime,Bloodlinesiscurrently available to stream on HBO Max.
