Escape Room was only released at the beginning of the year but a sequel was discussed almost immediately. The low-budget horror got fair reviews and made 118 million worldwide from a budget of 9 million. Sony originally set a release date of April 17, 2020 but it has now been confirmed that the date has been pushed back.
The Saw-esque movie follows a group of strangers that take part in a mysterious escape room in which they are to compete to win a prize of $10,000. Of course, the sadistic nature of the experience soon becomes clear in what turns out to be a game of life or death for the players. Although the reviews were mixed and mostly just mediocre, the potential for a franchise or at least a sequel was clear from the ending of the movie.
Director Adam Robitel and writer Bragi Schut are returning for the sequel, which has been pushed back 4 months and will now be released on August 14, 2020, as confirmed by @ERCboxoffice on Twitter.
Under construction. Sony's ESCAPE ROOM 2 has been pushed back 4 months–unlocks Aug 14, 2020 instead of April 17.
— Exhibitor Relations Co. (@ERCboxoffice) June 6, 2019
In an interview with Bloody Disgusting a couple of months ago, director Robitel discussed the upcoming sequel. He said:
It’s really tough, we did fire, gravity, ice, cold, gas so we need to outdo ourselves now. We’re in the box. I can’t draw and quarter somebody, so what are those visual ticking clocks? We have some really cool stuff we’re developing and hopefully the audience will think that way too, but it’s tougher. We did do the greatest hits in the first movie so the road gets narrower as it goes on. How do you give the audience what they’re expecting from an Escape Room movie but also not the exact same thing that the first movie did? So we’re really trying to iron all that out right now.”
When asked if certain characters that survived the events of the first movie would be involved in the sequel, the director said “There’s talk of that, yup, we’re looking at all options right now about what makes sense.”
Whatever the crew have in store for the continuation of the story, it will certainly be interesting to see how the next chapter plays out and whether it will go on to fulfil its franchise potential, and follow in the footsteps of the Saw movies.
What are you expecting from Escape Room 2? Let us know in the comments!