Has it been 23 years already? Well, no, but it has been more than a decade, but fans of the low-budget horror franchise Jeepers Creepers have something to celebrate today, as it as been announced that the saga will get a concluding chapter. Yes, that means exactly what you think it means, Jeepers Creepers 3 is happening.
According to Variety, Myriad Pictures announced that they will finance the long-in-the-works Jeepers Creepers 3, as well as tackle the international sales for the film. Francis Ford Coppola, and his American Zoetrope studios, which backed the first two installments in the hit horror franchise, will be back in play, as will a number of returning players who have had a hand in guiding the films.
Victor Salva, who both wrote and directed the 2001 original, as well as the 2003 follow up, not to mention other films like Powder, will be back in the same capacity for Jeepers Creepers 3. Brandon Smith, who played Sergeant Davis Tubbs in the first film, will show up in the same part, while it has also been confirmed that Jonathan Breck is set to reprise his role as the villainous Creeper. Salva promises fans a "terrifying new chapter."
For those of you who unfamiliar with these films, they revolve around a mysterious, legendary creature, the Creeper, who resides in the Midwest and emerges in the spring every 23 years to hunt for 23 days, harvesting human organs, which it then adds to itself. This time around, the skeptical Sergeant Tubbs joins a task force that aims to take out this ancient evil once and for all. The Creeper, however, fights back, protecting himself and his secret origins, in what is sure to be a gore-soaked clash.
It’s the origins part that has fans the most interested. Not only do Salva and company plan to deliver another horrifying chapter, they want to get into the history of the ancient monster. They plan to examine where it came from, why it does what it does, and other mysteries inherent in the creature. Whatever it is, I’m sure it’s all kinds of dark and messed up, which only sweetens the deal.
While not huge hits, the two Jeepers Creepers movies were made for relatively little capital and earned a combined $120 million worldwide, making them rather profitable overall. Never huge critical darlings, they have their fans, and while it’s been talked about for a while, it’s a bit surprising that it’s taken more than a decade for this to happen. Fans want it, and it will likely make money; seems like a win-win.
As of now, it’s starting to look like the long gestating Jeepers Creepers 3 could begin filming as early as next year in Vancouver, British Columbia, and probably hit sometime later that year or in early 2017.
