A recent April Fools’ Day prank may potentially lead to a long-awaited sequel to the 2014 thriller The Guest.
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During April Fools’ Day in 2022, director Adam Wingard — who helmed the 2014 thriller before moving on to bigger franchises, including directing last year’s Godzilla vs. Kong — released a soundtrack to The Guest II, a film that doesn’t exist. However, due to the original The Guest‘s cult classic status, as well as the love of the original soundtrack, the April Fools’ Day prank was received incredibly well, and even potentially opened the door to a new film being made.
Speaking to Empire, Wingard revealed that the prank actually caused him and writer Simon Barrett, who wrote the first film, to get into a “creative headspace” with one another on what a potential sequel could look like.
“It’s really pushed me and Simon [Barrett] into a creative headspace. We’re talking about [developing] a potential sequel as a real project,” said Wingard, who also noted that actor Dan Stevens “would love to do it,” before teasing that perhaps a limited series would be more fitting for a new entry. “Maybe the more interesting thing isn’t doing a sequel to The Guest. Maybe it’s doing a limited series, something we could really sink our teeth into.”
The original The Guest premiered in 2014, and focused on a U.S. soldier-turned-drifter (Stevens) who appears on a family’s doorstep, saying that he was a friend of their who died in combat. However, things quickly take a turn for the weird, leading to the family trying to figure out who the drifter really is.
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When it originally opened, The Guest didn’t receive a warm welcome, earning just under $3 million total in the box office despite a positive response from critics and fans. However, after its home video release, the film became a cult hit, with fans praising the performances, semi-supernatural story, and the ’80s synthwave soundtrack that accompanied it.
