Earlier this year, creator of The Purge franchise James DeMonaco revealed he was handing over directorial duties to Gerard McMurray for the next installment in the series, but based on a recent interview with Vulture, DeMonaco is remaining quite involved with how Purge-related projects develop, including the prequel and TV series.
The first installment debuted in 2013, introducing audiences to the dystopic future in which all crime was legal for a 12-hour period. This event, known as “The Purge,” was meant to both be a therapeutic embrace of more primal instincts in addition to an act that culled the poor and weak from society.
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The creator confirmed that the upcoming installment would be called “The Purge: Island” and was to depict the first ever Purge.
“I said it’s the first experimental Purge, which I don’t know if I was supposed to say, but now I’ve said it, so you have it,” joked DeMonaco. “Next July 4, it’ll be coming.”
“I was wondering how you get people to stay for the first Purge…”
Considering the first film took place after the annual ritual had been in place for years, many audiences have wondered how the idea could ever become a reality, which The Purge: Island will explore.
“I was wondering how you get people to stay for the first Purge, and what they do is they start monetizing it,” admitted DeMonaco. “People from Staten Island can easily go to Brooklyn for the evening, so what they do is start promising very decent sums of money for the very poor people in the neighborhood.”
The incorporation of money became the key factor in the concept, with DeMonaco elaborating, “It becomes a monetization of murder and violence, incentivizing killing and keeping people around for them to be victims. So you see the inception of how grotesque the idea of the Purge is, and the manipulation upon the society.”
“It’s so kick ass in its third act…”
DeMonaco might not be directing the prequel film, but he’s writing it, and has already promised it’s the most “crowd-pleasing” installment in the series so far.
“It’s so kick ass in its third act,” the filmmaker gushed. “What’s fun too is there’s an anti-hero. More than the previous films, there’s a singular hero in this movie. This is one man’s journey, William, an anti-hero [who] was inspired by Eastwood in Unforgiven, so it’s this very cool, modern kind of badass who redeems himself through the story.”
Frank Grillo is the only actor to appear in multiple installments, starring in both The Purge: Anarchy and The Purge: Election Year.
“We’re using this flashback structure to enter into the non-Purge lives…”
The prequel film isn’t the only Purge-related project in the works, with a TV series on the way. The series will be set between The Purge: Island and The Purge: Election Year.
“The movies are more like events,” noted DeMonaco. “In the TV show I think we’re slowing it down, and we’re using this flashback structure to enter into the non-Purge lives of these people. We’re going back six months or two years or into their childhood to see some things that might’ve fed into their decision-making on this particular Purge … Ten hours is allowing us to get deeper into character and deeper into why people would actually consider violence as an option ever.”
The Purge: Island will hit theaters on July 4, 2018 while the TV series is set to debut some time next year.
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