Since 2013, The Purge franchise has become a consistent force in pop culture. With a high concept idea featuring a society where all crime is made legal for one annual 12-hour period, the movies don’t exactly serve to paint humanity in the best light, essentially suggesting that the only thing stopping us from slaughtering each other en masse is social convention, but they have provided awesome entertainment for genre fans, and developed an interesting continuity over the years. And soon the legacy will be expanded even further, as just around the corner from us now is The Purge 5, a.k.a. The Forever Purge.
Like basically every other major franchise in Hollywood, the Purge movies have been known to maintain a certain air of secrecy, not wanting to divulge too much information prior to release, but there definitely are a collection of key things that we know about the production. Hence, we’ve put together this guide to give you a brief idea of what to expect from the fifth big screen chapter in this series.
The Purge 5 Is Titled The Forever Purge
The films of the Purge franchise have always kept things rather simple when it comes to titles, with the longest one being just four words long, and that tradition is being maintained by The Purge 5. The Forever Purge is kind of like The Purge: Anarchy in that it’s a name that isn’t tremendously informative about the plot (like, say, The Purge: Election Year or The First Purge), but it definitely sounds cool, and given the tone of the series a pretty horrifying concept. It also legitimately fits well with the second thing we know about the movie…
The Forever Purge Is The Final Purge Movie
When it comes to box office, one fun fact to know about The Purge movies is that each installment has made more than the last at the worldwide box office, with The First Purge pulling in $137 million globally in 2018, and rather than watch the trend change it looks like the franchise is going to try and go out on top. In late 2018, series creator James DeMonaco confirmed that The Forever Purge would be the last of the big screen sequels,
I think it’s a great way to end it all. We want to end it all, I think, in this one, and I’m very excited. When I came up with the idea and pitched it to everybody, they seemed psyched, and I think it will be a really cool ending, how we take this one home.
The Forever Purge Is Written By The Creator Of The Franchise
Speaking of James DeMonaco, his involvement with The Forever Purge didn’t exactly end with his aforementioned pitch, as he is once again serving as a primary creative force in the franchise. DeMonaco hasn’t directed a movie in the series since The Purge: Anarchy, but he has written the script for each installment personally, and that will include the fifth and final chapter. It only seems right that the guy who started it all be given the responsibility of bringing it to a close.
There Is A New Director At The Helm Of The Forever Purge
With James DeMonaco choosing to only write and not direct The First Purge, the responsibility of the helm was given to Gerard McMurray, and while his work was ultimately deemed successful, for The Forever Purge Blumhouse and Universal Pictures have brought in another green director looking to prove himself with a big franchise title. This is the story of Everardo Gout, who signed on to direct the sequel in August 2019. The Mexican filmmaker only has one previous feature on his resume, having directed the 2011 crime thriller Days Of Grace, but he has kept busy in the last decade directing for the small screen. His filmography includes notable titles like Banshee, Luke Cage, and The Terror.
Production On The Forever Purge Has Already Been Completed
One of the benefits of Blumhouse’s small budget approach is that films can start coming together rather quickly, and that’s very much the story of The Forever Purge. Everado Gout may have only been hired to direct the movie late last summer, but the guy can clearly move fast, as principal photography has already been completed. Production on the sequel wrapped back in February 2020, meaning that shooting wasn’t impacted by the social distancing protocols that were put in place the next month in America.
You Probably Won’t Recognize Much Of The Forever Purge Cast
Over the years, the Purge franchise has been able to attract some seriously talented actors to perform the material, including Ethan Hawke, Lena Headey, Michael K. Williams, Frank Grillo, and Marisa Tomei. One thing that seems to be a bit different with The Forever Purge, however, is that it doesn’t seems to have the same kind of star power going. Unless there is a star that the production is hiding, it looks like the cast of the new movie is exclusively filmed with up-and-comers, with the most notable names being character actor Will Patton, Nacho Libre's Ana de la Reguera and True Detective's Leven Rambin.
The Plot Of The Forever Purge Is Moving Out Of The City
With themes concerning class warfare and wealth disparity, the Purge movies to date have well-utilized metropolitan environments for the various stories, but it looks like things are going to be changed up a bit in The Forever Purge. While details have been kept to a minimum, it has been confirmed by the trades that the developing sequel will be changing things up for the fifth feature and will be moving away from urban areas. Whether this means that we will be going back to the suburbs like the first Purge, or perhaps somewhere brand new is currently unknown at this time – but you can be sure that we’re excited to find out.
The Forever Purge Has A 2021 Release Date
Part of what motivated The Forever Purge to move quickly through development and production was the fact that Universal wanted to have the film ready for release in summer 2020… but unfortunately that's not happening. While the movie was originally scheduled to hit theaters on July 10th, those plans were forced to change due to world events and movie houses closing their doors. Instead, fans will now have to wait almost exactly one year longer than originally anticipated, as the feature has been moved to July 9, 2021.
As we get closer to the release of The Forever Purge you can be sure that we will continue delivering full coverage for you – so stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for all of the latest news and updates about the film.
