What would horror films be without endless sequels? The Purge franchise is among the most profitable in the genre today, so you better believe that there’s a fourth installment. That’s right, Universal has now confirmed that The Purge 4 will hit theaters on July 4, 2018. Prepare yourself accordingly. It’s coming.
Details are slim regarding the third sequel, which follows last year’s The Purge: Election Year, but it’s been revealed that James DeMonaco, who wrote and directed the first three films, is slated to pen the newest installment. However, he’ll step away from the director’s chair this time around, instead helping the producers to find a suitable replacement.
It’s unclear why exactly DeMonaco decided to step out for this one, but it’s possible that the man said his peace with the other films and he’s now ready to move on to bigger and better things. It’s probably for the best, too, given that he’s been directing the franchise for so long now and there’s really only so far he can take it before it’d be smart to pass the mantle to some fresh blood.
Without delving into spoilers, I’m not quite sure how they’ll approach The Purge 4, especially given Election Night‘s ending. Based on recent events, it might get pretty political again, but that’s not a definite. If nothing else, it’ll likely be another bloody outing, and one that we’re intrigued to see develop.
In addition to DeMonaco’s semi-exit, one shouldn’t expect to see Frank Grillo return, either. While he led the previous sequels, Grillo noted in a recent interview that he’s pretty much done with the franchise.
It is what it is, but it’s great. It’s fun. After Anarchy, Universal called me and said, ‘You’ve got a franchise. We’re gonna continue with this, if you wanna do this.’ I was like, ‘Yeah, this is great!’ And so, when Election Year was even more successful, they were like, ‘Let’s keep doing this!’ I was like, ‘Maybe. I think I might be done, but you should keep doing it!’ But, I love it! [James] DeMonaco, who wrote and directed all of them, reminds me a lot of (Kingdom creator/showrunner) Byron [Balasco], in the sense that he so understands the world he’s created that you just follow him. For an actor, that’s fun.
With that in mind, The Purge 4 will likely take an entirely new approach and we’re curious to see what Universal does with the project moving forward.
