‘Scary Stories To Tell in the Dark’ Sequel Gets Disappointing Update

It has been more than four years since it was announced that that director André Øvredal and producer Guillermo del Toro were teaming back up for Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark 2, and it seems fans will have to wait even longer before they see the movie on the big screen. Speaking with Collider amid the years-long wait for the sequel to the hit 2019 movie, based on Alvin Schwartz iconic children’s horror series of the same name, writers Dan and Kevin Hageman confirmed that Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark 2 is “stalled.”

“It’s stalled right now,” Kevin told the outlet when asked for updates about the project. We actually don’t know. We wrote a draft, Guillermo [del Toro] had a story direction of where to take it…”

Although Dan, who said they are “in the dark,” said they “can’t get too much into it,” Kevin shared that they “wrote something, and that’s the last we know. We know a lot of people liked it, but we also know that nothing’s happening right now. We’re in the dark with you guys.”

Based on Schwartz’s collections of short horror stories for children of the same name, which features terrifying illustrations by Stephen Gammell, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is set in the small town of Mill Valley, where the shadow of the Bellows family has loomed large for generations. After a group of unsuspecting teens stumble upon the Bellows mansion, Sarah Bellows’ terrifying tales come to life. The film starred Zoe Colletti as Stella Nicholls, Michael Garza as Ramón Morales, Gabriel Rush as August “Auggie” Hilderbrandt, Austin Zajur as Charlie “Chuck” Steinberg, Natalie Ganzhorn as Rutho “Ruthie” Steinberg, Austin Abrams as Tommy Milner, Dean Norris as Roy Nicholls, Gil Bellows as Police Chief Turner, and Lorraine Toussaint as Louise “Lou Lou” Baptiste.

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark hit theaters in August 2019 and was a massive success. The film not only grossed approximately $104.5 million at the global box office off an estimated $25-28 million budget, but also was also met with favorable reviews. The movie is certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with a 77% critics score and 72% audience score. A critics consensus reads, “like the bestselling series of books that inspired it, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark opens a creepy gateway into horror for younger genre enthusiasts.”

Following the film’s success, a sequel was confirmed to be in the works from Paramount Pictures in April 2020, with Øvredal set to return to direct and del Toro set to produce. However, the film has faced numerous development challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic and last year’s writers’ and actors’ strikes.

In an update in August 2023, Øvredal told IGN, “we have a story. We have a script. We’ve been working on the script as late as last year and even slightly into this year.” However, he noted that “the process obviously stopped with the strike — but it’s alive, for sure.” Meanwhile, Kevin told Collider in December 2023, “we’re in conversations talking about how to keep this franchise alive. We’re fighting a good fight for it so that hopefully someday we’ll see it.”

There have been no further updates on Scary Stores to Tell in the Dark 2. The original 2019 film is available to stream on Netflix.