Rumors run rampant through the internet, like rabbits through a field of flowers. Unfortunately, sometimes those rumor rabbits have to be caught and prevented from running too far into the wild, and the reports surrounding a potential Happy Death Day sequel are one of those very beasties caught up in the web that divides truth and lies.
With a supposed third film being claimed as in development by numerous outlets, out of an erroneous original report, director and series mastermind Christopher Landon issued the following, definitive statement:
This debunking is one of the more painful rumors that have been shot down, and Christopher Landon has been teasing a cracker of an idea for a potential Happy Death Day 3 ever since the promotion of this year’s Happy Death Day 2U.
While the specifics of what that third film would be like aren’t known to the world at large, the mid-credits sequence that was included in the sequel to 2017’s runaway hit Happy Death Day saw Jessica Rothe’s protagonist Tree being enlisted in helping the government fully understand the nature of the time paradox at the heart of the franchise.
As such, her recruitment lead to an unwitting guinea pig being brought into the mix, which more than likely would have been the main focus of Happy Death Day 3, should the folks at Universal and Blumhouse wanted to make it a reality. And while Jason Blum didn’t sound overly positive on the odds for that film’s genesis, he didn’t shut it down definitively when asked about it in the past.
The prospects for the third film dimmed quickly after Happy Death Day 2U’s performance at the box office was seen as a rather dismal disappointment, especially when compared to the clip that Happy Death Day racked up its box office fortunes back in 2017. Though the film was another triumph of Blumhouse’s budgetary prowess, it brought in roughly half of what the first film had grossed worldwide, and at almost double the budget.
It makes fiscal sense that Universal would pass on another outing in the Happy Death Day saga, as those numbers don’t support a growing appetite for Tree Gelbhorn’s continued adventures. However, Christopher Landon did make a suggestion in his debunking tweet as to how Happy Death Day 3 could potentially happen, and it’s the exact advice you’d expect from today’s market: he thinks Netflix should take on the final film in the trilogy.
It’s not a bad idea, considering Netflix is an expert in picking up projects that studios aren’t interested in moving forward on. With Red Notice moving from Universal’s playground to the streaming studio’s own backlot, and with a hefty price tag to boot, it wouldn’t be that bad of an idea to secure a fan demanded sequel to a big brand with a Blumhouse sized budget on the side.
Then again, if NBCUniversal could revive A.P. Bio for a third season as an exclusive for their upcoming streaming platform, it would be even smarter of Universal to bank that project for their own purposes. Ask anyone who works for an upstart streamer and they’ll tell you, the more original content you have on launch day, the better.
As it stands, Happy Death Day 3 is probably not happening. But much like Jason Blum, and any good fan of the series, we’ll keep a small flame of hope burning that the not likely, “but not impossible” film can start up the time loop again.
Happy Death Day and Happy Death Day 2U are currently both available in digital and physical media formats.
