James DeMonaco worked on the script for The Purge for a decade and didn’t entirely believe it might be a massive hit. He definitely didn’t see it becoming a genre juggernaut franchise.
In an interview with Perri Nemiroff for Collider, DeMonaco, who is both the creator and director of The Purge, talks about his expectations for the first film being quite reserved.
“I never thought it would play in any multiplex across the country when I wrote it. This franchise is 10 years old, but the idea of the movie is 20 years old. And when it was conceived, we thought it would just play at the Angelika [Film Center]. That was it. We thought it would be this tiny indie horror thriller, and I didn’t think it had any mainstream appeal.” DeMonaco mused, ”I think we counted 80 passes because the script was so anti-American. So we just assumed if we do get it made, it’s gonna play in a very small venue like the Angelika, which was my favorite theater when I went to NYU.”
The Purge 6 Script Is Completed
Not only did The Purge end up becoming a box office behemoth, but it also spawned a franchise that has seen four sequels and a television series in the ten years since its release.
James DeMonaco also confirmed the script for The Purge 6 has already been written, but naturally won’t be going anywhere whilst the strikes by SAG-AFTRA and the WGA are ongoing. DeMonaco promises it will continue the series’ anti-American concept to disturbing new and increasingly relevant levels.
In addition to finishing that script, DeMonaco has been working on an original ”heavy horror” movie with SNL star Pete Davidson called The Home. The movie sees Davidson playing a graffiti artist who has been sentenced to do community service at a mysterious retirement home.
