Asproduction continues to roll along apace, another star has answered the call forScott Derrickson’sThe Black Phone 2. The much-anticipated horror sequel has addedArianna Rivasto its call sheet, landing her along side the returning ensemble ofEthan Hawke, Mason Thames, Madeleine McGraw, Jeremy Davies, andMiguel Mora. She’s thesecond major new addition to join the projectalongside Oscar-nominated horror veteranDemián Bichir. Her introduction the horror flick also comes soon after production wrapped on her first lead role inthe starry Amazon MGM movieLevon’s Tradeopposite action favoriteJason Statham.
The Black Phone 2, which began production at the beginning of November, is still largely shrouded in mystery regarding its story. Derrickson once again teamed up with regular collaboratorC. Robert Cargillto pen the follow-up which has been teased as a high school coming-of-age story taking place inthe aftermath of The Grabber’s (Hawke) demise. The first film followed the 13-year-old Finney Shaw (Thames) who was abducted by the local killer and locked in his basement where all that remained was a singular unconnected black phone. While trapped, he receives calls from the spirits of The Grabber’s previous victims who do everything they can to help him escape and ultimately kill their tormentor.Hawke’s returnmeans Derrickson, Cargill, and executive producerJoe Hill, who wrote the original short story, will have to get creative to bring back their terrifying killer.
Expectations will be sky-highwhen the sequel eventually hits theaters. The originalBlack Phonemarked a big win for Derrickson and Blumhouse in 2021, scoring a box office haul of $161 million and earning rave reviews to the tune of a Certified Fresh 81% critic score and 88% audience score onRotten Tomatoes. It marked a welcome return for theSInisterdirector to horror feature filmmaking after taking time to helmDoctor Strangeand work on theSnowpiercerseries, and the follow-up will look to keep the momentum going.The Black Phone 2is part of a stacked 2025 lineup for Blumhouse, headlined byWolf Man,M3GAN 2.0, andFive Nights at Freddy’s 2, among other things.
What Else Has Rivas Done?
Rivas was most recently seen in a supporting role for Hulu’sProm DatesstarringJulia LesterandAntonia Gentryearlier this year. Her only other feature credit came in 2023’sThe Harvest, though that count is about to go up with her appearance inLevon’s Trade. Based onthe first installment inChuck Dixon’sLevonseries of novels, the film stars Statham in the titular role of Levon Cade, who has left his profession behind for a simpler life working construction and taking care of his daughter. When his boss’s daughter goes missing, however, he’s asked to call upon his legendary skills from his black ops days one more time to save her. The film re-teams Statham withThe BeekeeperhelmerDavid Ayer, who directs from a script adapted bySylvester Stallonethat he helped revise.Michael Peña,David Harbour,Eve Mauro, andJason Flemyngare also among the cast.
The Black Phone 2hits theaters on October 17. Stay tuned here at Collider for more updates as they come out.
Black Phone 2
