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Passenger Director Is Ready To Make Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark 2 — But There's A Catch [Exclusive]

By Ryan Scott

May 20, 2026 9:00 am EST

Lionsgate

Is "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark 2" still happening? Or is this one of those sequels that got announced only to never see the light of day? If director André Øvredal has his way, it's going to happen. Unfortunately, it's not totally up to him.

/Film's Jeremy Mathai recently spoke to Øvredal in honor of his new scary horror movie "Passenger." During the conversation, the subject of a sequel to 2019's "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark" came up. The director is very much interested in doing it, but there's a bit of a right issue holding things up. Here's what he had to say about it:

"I mean, yes and no. What I can say is that it's been stuck in a bit of a copyright ownership hell with two studios that don't exist anymore, that produced a movie together, CBS Films and EOne, and they don't really exist anymore."

Hasbro bought Entertainment One in 2019, only to sell it in 2022. That's problem one. Problem two, CBS Films was shuttered in 2019 after some shake-ups at CBS. Hence, things got tricky. Øvredal further explained that, should the parties figure things out, they're ready to go with another cinematic take on the books by Alvin Schwartz. As tells us:

"The rights spread out to two other companies, and then they have to agree to figure it out between them, and that has taken some time, but there is movement. We do have conversations about it once every couple of months, and there is currently some movement, I'm gathering. But it becomes about legal departments and not about creatives, because we have a story that I love that is just ready to go whenever somebody decides, 'I own the movie, let's go make it.'"

Does a Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark sequel still make sense?

Lionsgate

A "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark" sequel was announced in 2020, with André Øvredal set to return to the director's chair. This move made sense, given that the first movie earned $104 million at the box office against a $25 million budget. Those are numbers that mean "sequel" in Hollywood on any day that ends in "y." Especially when Oscar-winner Guillermo del Toro is one of the writers and producers. The first movie also earned favorable reviews, which never hurts.

Unfortunately, rights issues can be tricky, and corporate jockeying can get in the way even when there seems to be plenty of money to be made. Though it is also worth noting that the first movie came out before the pandemic shut down movie theaters for months on end in 2020. When theaters reopened in late 2020/early 2021, the industry had changed for good.

One thing that is absolutely certain is that horror has remained a very steady winner at the box office, despite all of the changes in the industry. Alvin Schwartz's books also contain plenty more source material for Øvredal to mine. Much like the books, "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark" played like a gateway drug for young horror fans. Even if a very direct sequel might not make as much sense as it once did, the franchise potential for this property is still there. At the very least, it still feels like a low-risk/high-reward prospect if the powers that be can come together and figure this mess out.

"Passenger" hits theaters on May 22, 2026.