#Happy Death Day 3 And Dracula Updates From Jason Blum – /Film

Blumhouse is busy. The studio, which has made a name for itself with horror films but dabbles in other genres, is back at the multiplex this week with The Forever Purge. But what’s next for Blumhouse? Plenty – although several potential projects remain in a kind of limbo, or netherworld. They might happen, then again, they might not. Who is to say? Jason Blum, that’s who.

Blum sat down with /Film’s Jack Giroux for an upcoming interview and dropped some info on two upcoming potential projects: Happy Death Day 3 and Karyn Kusama‘s Dracula.

Happy Death Day 3

Happy Death Day and its sequel Happy Death Day 2U are both wonderful. The first film takes the Groundhog Day scenario of a time loop and grafts it onto a slasher movie, while the second one goes to even crazier – and surprisingly emotional – places. Happy Death Day 2U ended with a set-up for a third film, but the sequel didn’t do as well at the box office as Blumhouse had hoped. That essentially put Happy Death Day 3 on indefinite hold, although the folks involved with the franchise – writer/director Christopher Landon and star Jessica Rothe – have expressed a desire to return.

When asked if Happy Death Day 3 might still happen, Jason Blum replied:

“I’m not giving up. That’s like the next Purge movie. There’s nothing official […] I think Chris Landon’s one of the most talented filmmakers we’ve ever worked with. We continue to work with. And I want to continue that franchise some way. It’s what happens when the box office really falls off on a second movie, it’s much more challenging to keep it going, but I’m going to try. I’ve got some ideas up my sleeve.”

I have to say I find this answer kind of…disappointing. Blum runs the damn studio. He can go ahead and greenlight a third movie today if he wanted to. So for him to say “I’m not giving up” is just a tad odd to me. What, exactly, is he waiting for? I’m really not sure, but I’d really liked one more of these movies, please and thank you.

Karyn Kusama’s Dracula

Another Blumhouse project on the horizon is a new take on Dracula from director Karyn Kusama, the filmmaker behind The Invitation and Destroyer. There are several different Dracula projects at several different studios right now, including one from Oscar winner Chloé Zhao that’s being described as a “futuristic, sci-fi Western; Renfield, an “extremely violent comedy” about Dracula’s bug-eating henchman; and The Bride, which is not a straight adaptation of Dracula, but is partially inspired by the classic vampire book.

Zhao’s film is set up at Universal, which works hand-in-hand with Blumhouse. As a result, when that project was first announced, many wondered if it had driven a stake right through the heart of Karyn Kusama’s Dracula. At the time, I was able to confirm that Kusama’s Dracula was still in the works. But where does it stand now?

While Blum didn’t offer up too many details, he did say, “Well, I just texted [Karyn Kusama] this morning. I’ll say this, it’s in very active development, so we’re getting very close.” I love Kusama’s work, so I hope this all works out in the end.

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