Gellar's new Grudge

It’s official: Sarah Michelle Gellar will once more wear the wide-eyed face of terror as Karen Davis in The Grudge 2.

Given how well the original performed at the box office, raking in more than $186 million worldwide, it was somehow inevitable that the producers would kick-start a sequel. What was less certain was SMG returning.

Talking to horror site Dread Central, screenwriter Stephen Susco admits that they’re hard at work: “Without giving anything away, we’ve all been pretty focused on making a sequel that has a strong raison d’être – a second chapter to an involving story, instead of just a sequel that’s made just because the first one performed well.”

Word of advice, Steve: using French doesn’t make us think that the intention is entirely artistic and creative. Still, they’ve put Grudge specialist Takashi Shimizu back into the director’s chair and staked out a 20 January start date. We’ll bring you more details when we can, but here’s a hot tip: expect a spooky boy or girl with black hair. Just saying…

The Total Film team are made up of the finest minds in all of film journalism. They are: Editor Jane Crowther, Deputy Editor Matt Maytum, Reviews Ed Matthew Leyland, News Editor Jordan Farley, and Online Editor Emily Murray. Expect exclusive news, reviews, features, and more from the team behind the smarter movie magazine. 

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