[Editor’s note: The following story contains spoilers for “Talk to Me.”]
The teens in “Talk to Me” might be trapped in the spirit world, but the Australian horror movie’s franchise potential is alive and thriving. A24 has ordered a sequel to Danny and Michael Philippou’s feature directorial debut, the production company announced Tuesday.
The news comes just less than two weeks after “Talk to Me” had its theatrical release in the United States on July 28. In addition to announcing the sequel, A24 shared the film‘s title card, revealing that, in the great tradition of “2 Fast 2 Furious” and “Scre4m,” the film will be titled “Talk 2 Me.”
The Philippous, two brothers best known for their popular horror comedy Youtube Channel RackaRacka, are set to return to direct the sequel. Danny Philippou will also reunite with Bill Hinzman, who he wrote the first film with, to work on the screenplay for the followup. Samantha Jennings and Kristina Ceyton of Causeway Films also return to produce.
An enjoyably nasty possession film, “Talk to Me” focuses on a group of suburban Australian teenagers who come into ownership of a mysterious ceramic hand. Ostensibly the vessel for an embalmed limb of a medium or satanist, the hand acts as a conduit for spirits, allowing those who grasp onto it to become possessed for a limited period of time. Although the kids initially treat the hand as a party trick and a way to get internet clout, their experiences take a turn for the nightmarish when Mia (Sophie Wilde) ignores the rules of the ritual in an effort to talk to her recently deceased mother.
No info about the plot of “Talk 2 Me” has been revealed, leaving it unclear if any of the cast of the first movie — which also includes Miranda Otto, Alexandra Jensen, Joe Bird, Otis Dhanji, Zoe Terakes, and Chris Alosio — will return.
The film ended on a dire note, with Mia dead and now a spirit under the control of the hand (though the Philippous were cagey when IndieWire recently asked about the exact provenance of said hand.) In addition, the hand has seemingly gotten lost by the teens and picked up by new owners, so there’s plenty of opportunity for a group of new teens to get brutalized by evil from beyond the grave.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the Philippou brothers revealed that they shot a prequel film to “Talk to Me” in conjunction with the first film. The prequel focuses on the hand’s original owner Duckett (Sunny Johnson), featured in the cold opening of “Talk to Me,” and is told in a found-footage format with all scenes being depicted through phone videos and social media. Based on A24’s description of “Talk 2 Me” as a sequel, it appears to be a separate project from the already shot prequel.
The original “Talk to Me” made its world premiere in January this year at the Sundance Film Festival, where it received positive reviews, and A24 acquired the film after a bidding war with Universal Pictures. Upon release, the film made $10.4 million at the box office, more than double its $4.5 million budget and making for the best opening weekend for an A24 picture since 2019’s “Midsommar.” It has since grossed $24.8 million worldwide.
The film also generated some less positive headlines after Kuwait banned it due to the participation of cast member Terakes, who is non-binary and trans-masculine, despite their gender identity not being mentioned in the movie. Both Terakes and the Philippou brothers have since spoken out against the ban.
News of the sequel makes “Talk to Me” the third A24 film to receive an official sequel. The first, Joanna Hogg’s 2019 semi-autobiographical “The Souvenir,” received a “Part II” in 2021. The second is “X,” Ti West’s ’70s set horror film, which has launched a prequel “Pearl” and a sequel in the upcoming “MaXXXine,” expected for next year.
For news on other A24 films in development, read IndieWire’s running calendar of every film coming out from the studio in 2023 and beyond.
