Goosebumpsturned out to be one of the more pleasant surprises of 2015. While I was encouraged by what I saw on the set visit, the film surpassed my expectations.Rob Lettermancrafted a solid PG family film that was thrilling but not terrifying, and could provide a terrific gateway for younger viewers into horror. TheJumanji-like framework was a solid approach, andJack Blackmade for an endearing lead alongsideDylan Minnette,Odeya Rush, andRyan Lee. If you haven’t gotten around to checking the film out, I highly encourage you to give it a shot, especially if you have kids.
Back in April,we reportedthat Sony was moving forward withGoosebumps 2, and now the film has a release date: July 03, 2025. Letterman will return to direct withDarren Lemke, who wrote the screenplay for the first film, penning the script
However, I wouldn’t be surprised ifGoosebumps 2ends up getting pushed back. The first film did impressive numbers by being a PG-horror film released around Halloween, making $150 million worldwide off a $58 million budget. While January isn’t exclusively a dumping ground (for example,Splitopens this weekend and it’s a good movie), it’s harder to make a splash, especially if your film is targeted at younger viewers who will now be back in school after gobbling up the latestStar Warsmovie over the holidays.
Also, if you look at the release calendar for October 2018, Sony doesn’t currently have any movies slated for that month. If they play their cards right, they could easily turnGoosebumpsinto an October franchise that becomes a must-see movie for kids who are gearing up for Halloween.
While no cast has been announced yet forGoosebumps 2, I would be shocked if Black doesn’t return. Granted, the monsters are the true stars, but for Black, it would be good if he could have a franchise he could call his own, which in turn would allow him to pursue other projects.
