Just like a real escape room, the January horror film Escape Room was thrilling, a little bit scary, and more fun than it had any business being. It was also a huge hit, costing just $9M and earning $118M worldwide. And of course, those numbers add up to a sequel, which we now have a release date for.
Deadline reports Escape Room 2 will trap moviegoers on April 17th 2020. That’s not too far away and the date is at more competitive time of year. It’s easy to see why Sony is so sure of things, as director Adam Robitel, screenwriter Bragi F. Schut, and producer Neal H. Moritz are all coming back.
As for the cast…well, don’t go any further if you don’t want SPOILERS. The first movie followed six strangers who were lured into what they thought was a competitive escape room experience, with the winner earning a lucrative prize. Of course, the escape room proved to be more immersive than any of them expected, and only two of them (played by Logan Miller and Taylor Russell) made it through to the end when they learned it was all part of a grand game played by wealthy elites. The duo fly off to confront their former captors, only to have their flight turned into yet another escape room.
Basically I can see a sequel going the Hostel route, which had a similarly conspiratorial theme. The escape rooms will get more gruesome, we’ll learn more about those behind the games, and it could be the start of a long-running franchise. I’d love if they could turn this into a “Choose Your Own Adventure” thing like Netflix did for Black Mirror: Bandersnatch.
