Parker Finn on 'Smile 2': “It's bolder, nastier, bloodier”

This week, Paramount Pictures releases in theaters Smile 2the long-awaited sequel to the biggest horror hit of 2022, Smile.

The sequel, which has the return of the writer and director Park Finnstars Naomi Scott (Aladdin, Charlie’s Angels) as Skye Riley, a pop star who will soon be dragged to hell after visiting her friend Lewis's apartment (Lukas Gage of The White Lotus, Road House), who smiled at him in a creepy way before taking his own life. Skye is stalked by a demonic identity after witnessing her friend's suicide, now passing the curse on to her.

In a behind-the-scenes video shared by Paramount, Finn explains what it was like to find the right story for the new installment:

“I knew that if I made a sequel I needed to find a character with something thematic to explore. The trick to unlocking it was discovering the character of Skye Riley. “She's a famous star, surrounded by people and at the same time she's incredibly alone, it's a chilling situation for anyone.”

“Wanted to find new ways to fool both Skye and the audience.”

“The sequel becomes bolder, more out of control. Nastier, bloodier. And everything you loved about the first movie, we make it ten times bigger.”

The behind-the-scenes footage is at the end of this note.

The cast of smile 2 counts on the return of Kyle Gallnerand new additions to the franchise Rosemarie DeWitt (The Staircase, Little Fires Everywhere), Dylan Gelula (Dream Scenario), Raul Castillo (Army of the Dead, Class of ’09), Miles Gutierrez-Riley (The Wilds), Ray Nicholson (Promising Young Woman, Licorice Pizza), y Drew Barrymoreappearing with his daytime show, The Drew Barrymore Show being visited by Skye Riley.

OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS:

About to embark on her new world tour, global pop sensation Skye Riley (Naomi Scott) begins to experience increasingly terrifying and inexplicable events. Overwhelmed by the growing horrors and pressures of fame, Skye is forced to confront her dark past to take back control of her life before it spirals out of control.

The original delivery, smilewritten and directed by Finn, made a box office of more than $217 million with a budget of $17 million, with a good reception from critics and audiences, which is why Paramount did not think twice and launched the film. sequel smile 2.

Smile It marked Finn's debut as a feature film writer-director. Previously he wrote and directed the short films The Hidebehind (2018), y Laura Hasn’t Slept (2020), the latter was precisely the inspiration to create Smile (here you can see the short film).

Paramount Pictures releases smile 2 in theaters on October 18, 2024.

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