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Everything we know about The Strangers Trilogy... so far

Published by: IsTamaraHome.net
Date Published: 4 August 2023
Updated: 22 March 2025

The Strangers Trilogy has seemingly wrapped post production according to a tweet from producer Rafaella Biscayn. Whilst we await news on its release, here is everything we know so far.

THE TRILOGY ANNOUNCED

News of The Strangers Trilogy was first revealed in August 2022 when Roy Lee producer of the original The Strangers revealed that he believed “the next three” Strangers films were in production “with another filmmaker that people will know”. Although, rumours of a new film were sent to my inbox in 2021 by a key player in The Strangers: Prey at Night who revealed that a new company had acquired the rights to the franchise with the plan to make more instalments.

The player wished to remain anonymous and when I couldn’t find anymore details about the company they claimed had the rights or any news of new Strangers films I let it rest for a bit until publishing it in February 2022, four months before it was officially confirmed by Roy Lee in the interview with Bloody Disgusting.

RENNY HARLIN DIRECTOR AND FILMING IN BRATISLAVA

One day following the announcement of the trilogy, A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master director, Renny Harlin was announced to be directing at least of the instalments of the trilogy which were being produced by Lionsgate. Harlin’s involvement was officially confirmed in September 2022 and upon directing the trilogy, Harlin stated:

“My mother instilled the love of movies in me through the world of Hitchcock and other masters of suspense and horror. My breakthrough to Hollywood happened with the success of A Nightmare on Elm Street 4. It is only fitting that I get to return to my favorite genre with the incredibly well written trilogy of The Strangers. The characters and the storyline are all grounded in reality and offer me an endless tapestry of haunting visuals in bringing these movies alive.”

Upon his announcement it was also revealed that the entire trilogy was being filmed in Bratislava, Slovakia which would act as a stand in for the US state of Oregon. According to the official reports, production likely started around September 2022 and ending in October 2022. However, my own research done indicates that production could’ve started as far back as July 2022 which is probable as the likelihood of being able to film an entire trilogy of films in just over a month is a stretch.

Alan R. Cohen and Alan Freedland have been credited as the writers for the trilogy. However, my own research has indicated a third screenwriter Amber Loutfi has also had a part in writing the trilogy.

PETSCH, GUTIERREZ AND BASSO

Along with the announcement of Renny Harlin as the director came the announcement of the principal cast including Madelaine Petsch, Froy Gutierrez and Gabriel Basso as the titular stars of the trilogy with their roles likely spilling across all three instalments. What also leads me to believe that the trilogy started filming earlier is Petsch was posting hints on her Instagram story well before the announcement of the trilogy.

Research I did also revealed that Petsch and Gutierrez’s characters were named Maya and Ryan. This news was confirmed in an interview with Petsch in November 2022.

PLOT

A fan who sent in multiple casting calls for the film revealed two separate plots for the films but ultimately cover the general plot that the trilogy would follow.

The first plot revealed was: “Forced to spend the night in a creepy town, Ryan and Maya are attacked by a gang of psycho killers, leaving him dead and Maya desperately trying to escape.”

The second plot was sent in not ling after the first one was sent to me which stated: “The new Strangers film will follow Maya (Petsch) as she drives cross-country with her longtime boyfriend Ryan (Gutierrez) to begin a new life in the Pacific Northwest. When their car breaks down in Venus, Oregon, they’re forced to spend the night in a secluded Airbnb, where they are terrorized from dusk till dawn by three masked strangers.”

Based on that information, it is quite possible that Petsch will be the main face of the trilogy with Gutierrez dying early on in the trilogy. As for Basso, his role is not yet known officially, however a report from Deadline states that Basso will be the “villain-lead” of the trilogy.

In Petsch’s November interview with EW, she revealed a bit more about the plot of the trilogy: “There’s a bit more of a backstory as to why it’s happening too which I think people will really like especially OG fans. It’s a new concept but it’s kinda a remake of the original and then two additional continuous stories”.

In another interview with Collider, Petsch revealed a bit more about the trilogy which is quoted below:

“I’d like to first tell that person that I too feel that way about the original Strangers. When I got sent the trilogy of scripts, I said, ‘This feels like a behemoth that maybe shouldn’t be touched.’ I really felt that way as well and I was very resistant to the idea. And then I clicked on the first script and it all made sense to me. You’re getting so much more backstory. You’re getting so much more character development. I think my biggest pet peeve with the old one now is that you’re not really emotionally invested in those characters. So, yes, it’s terrifying, but you don’t know why they’re fighting originally. You don’t know what their relationship is. They’re kind of already at odds with each other, and so there’s not a lot of investment into Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman. You’re just terrified for them and with them, and so I think we built a world that delves into it more. It’s not exactly a remake because it’s different characters, but it’s the same concept and idea, and I think people will feel like it’s an homage. They’re gonna feel like we handled the material with care and I think [they’re gonna feel] like we’ve dove deeper into it. So if anything, it should make Strangers OG fans really excited because you get more answers, you get more mystery and you get more scares, which is why we watch them.”

As for where the Trilogy stands in the franchise, it has been credited as a reboot, a sequel, and a remake. Whilst we won’t officially know its stance until we see the film, in a recent interview, Ema Horvath stated that “it’s within the same universe”.

ENSEMBLE CAST

Following production wrapping, two new cast members were officially announced by Lionsgate including Oscar winner Rachel Shenton as Debbie, the sister of Maya, and Rings of Power actress Ema Horvath. Her role was not revealed however behind the scenes photos reveal that she’ll presumably be playing a waitress named Shelly, whether this Shelly turns out to be a nefarious character we’ll have to wait and see.

No other cast has been officially announced, however from November 2022 up until the last couple of months, I’ve been exclusively revealing new cast and characters which funnily enough have been shared in articles from other major sources. The cast I’ve been able to reveal include:

Ella Bruccoleri as Jasmine
Brooke Lena Johnson as Danica
Ryan Bown as Jeff Morrell, a “city slick and real estate agent” who is “not a good guy”.
Florian Clare as Chris Sampson
Ben Cartwright as Rudy
Rebecka Johnston as Lucy
Miles Yekinni as Pablo Sandstrom
Janis Ahern as Carol
Stevee Davies as Dougie
Brian Law as an EMT Driver
George Young as Howard
Pablo Sandstrom as Neil
Pedro Leandro as Deputy Walters
Sara Freedland as Annie
J.R. Esposito as Dr. Tate
Milo Moses Callaghan as Wayne

Of course, I can’t take all the credit as I’ve had a lot of followers of my site send in tips and possible leads which have led to the discovery of this information.

AUGUST RELEASE and the SAG-AFTRA STRIKE

In April 2023, Ryan Bown appeared on a podcast where he talked about his character Jeff Morrell, on his role he stated: I shot something called The Strangers in Slovakia. I play a very bad person, he’s a very bad guy, basically a city slick and real estate agent who loves a bit of Charlie. And he’s not a good guy.”

When he was asked about the release, Ryan stated that the film would be released in “August” of 2023, and this was the first hint we’d heard of a release or any sort of update, and it still is as there has been no official news or updates from Lionsgate other than a tweet from producer Rafaella Biscayn who seemingly confirmed that post production was finished.

As for the August release, we are now in August and there has been no trailer, poster or any sort of news so it can be said that we will not be getting the film this month. A reputable source from Lionsgate has confirmed this to me and that the film was delayed due to multiple reasons, one big part of that being the SAG-AFTRA strike.

Until the strike is over, I don’t believe we’ll be getting any updates on the trilogy as the strike means actors cannot talk about films they’re involved in which means there can’t be any press on the film just yet. As for a release date, I don’t know but I’ve heard some rumours of a Halloween release. Whether that means this year or next year that’s all up to Lionsgate.

CANCELLED SAN DIEGO COMIC CON APPEARANCE

Before the SAG-AFTRA strike went into action, Madelaine Petsch was set to make an appearance at San Diego Comic Con 2023 with producer Courtney Solomon where they would have done a one hour panel discussing the trilogy and sharing an exclusive first look clip of the trilogy. The panel was scheduled for July 21st, 2023. The strike started only days before the appearance was scheduled and due to the terms of the strike, the panel had to be cancelled. According to the panel notes, the trilogy is also set for a 2024 theatrical release.

“Actress and executive producer Madelaine Petsch (Riverdale) and producer Courtney Solomon (After) discuss The Strangers and will provide an exclusive first-look clip from their new horror trilogy, which will be in theaters from Lionsgate in 2024.” Was the official description of the panel before it was cancelled.

NEW YORK COMIC CON FIRST LOOK

As of the time of updating this article, there is currently a panel scheduled for New York Comic Con which will be attended by Renny Harlin and Courtney Solomon in which they will give a first look at the trilogy and do a Q&A on the production. This is what was supposed to happen at San Diego Comic Con before the SAG-AFTRA strike led to its cancellation. The panel is scheduled for October 12, 2023 from 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM.

RUMOURED CAST MEMBER

The following information is just rumours for now but it could be a possibility. There are possibly two more cast members in the film:

Rafaella Biscayn who is currently a producer on the film has been credited as playing Eden on IMDb. At first I was skeptical, however Biscayn as well as a producer is also an actress. And according to a ActorsAccess page for her, it looks like she may be starring in all three instalments.

What’s interesting to note in the resume, which is imaged below, the films are seemingly releasing a year apart from each other and it seems that another actor is set to lead at least one of the instalments. By the looks of Rafaella’s CV on this page, she will be a supporting character alongside an actor listed as “Richard Blake”.

According to my research, there is no actor named Richard Blake however there is a prominent horror actor named Richard Brake who starred in Barbarian which was produced by Roy Lee and also starred J.R. Esposito. I can’t find any official confirmation of Richard Brake being in the trilogy, however he has recently popped up on IMDb, credited as “Sheriff Rotter”. There is no mention of his involvement anywhere, however he was posting on Instagram from Bratislava in July/August 2022, so it’s possible.

Update as of March 1st, 2024: It is now confirmed that Richard Brake will in-fact be apart of the trilogy as Sheriff Rotter. He was spotted in the trailer for Chapter 1.

CHAPTER 1 RELEASE DATE

As of December 20th, 2023, it was confirmed that Chapter 1 of the trilogy would be released on May 17th, 2024. The future chapters were not officially confirmed, however Courtney Solomon indicated at WonderCon that Chapter 2 would be released in the Fall of 2024, and Chapter 3 would likely release at the beginning of 2025. As of the latest update of this article in August 2024, we are still waiting for a release date announcement for Chapter 2 and it has been indirectly confirmed that the film had been delayed until 2025.

CHAPTER 2 RESHOOTS

In June 2024 to August 2024, the trilogy underwent reshoots in Bratislava, Slovakia. A lot was being changed in these reshoots including plot points, identities of certain Strangers and more were being changed. The reasoning behind this is unknown, however multiple sources who were very close to production indicated that firstly, Lionsgate were impressed with the box office return of Chapter 1 so granted a bigger budget for the reshoots, and another source confirmed that when production wrapped in 2022, Chapter 3 was not completely finished and so the reshoots were likely finalising that and changing the plot.

It doesn’t surprise me they want to change some of the Strangers identities as multiple Instagram and Twitter accounts, as well as a stunt woman from production, leaked the identities of 2/3 Strangers. I don’t know which Strangers are being changed, but I imagine it may be one or both of them. Additionally, at this same time certain leaks were dropped from Renny Harlin’s reality TV show in which Season 3 was based on the Strangers. I won’t share those here until after the plot points they relate to are released.

Finally, two new Strangers were leaked in the credits of Chapter 1, Ghostskull and Witchface, as far as I know if this is legitimate, and there will be new Strangers in the film. Perhaps I’ve seen them, but I won’t say more as to that just yet.

CHAPTER 3 RESHOOTS

In March of 2025, it was revealed that there were even more reshoots happening in Toronto, Canada, specifically for Chapter 3. At the time of that announcement, there is still no trailer or release date for Chapter 2 but it’s expected to be announced at the start of April. The reshoots are intended to last until mid-April with Madelaine Petsch set to come back and potentially George Young and Rachel Shenton on set as well.

And that’s all I’ve got for you. Make sure to keep checking back to this article as I have more news to share as the more parts of the trilogy are dropped.

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