My press day for The Purge: Anarchy was quite the whirlwind, between announcing Frank Grillo’s involvement in Partick Hughes’ The Raid: Redemption remake to finding out where Michael K. Williams says The Purge 3 will most likely go, but I’m not done just yet! James DeMonaco, writer/director on the most recent Purge film, will obviously be courted for a third film in the franchise if Anarchy is lucrative enough, but that doesn’t mean another night of chaos is on the director’s radar next. Sorry, I should say “another night of purge-based chaos” in that respect.
While talking to DeMonaco about all things Purge (where it can go next, what we still have yet to experience), I asked what project he’d like to tackle next after all the dust settles on Anarchy. Another Purge? More horror? Maybe a romantic comedy?! This was his response:
WGTC: So what are you working on now? We’ve been talking a lot about another Purge movie, but I’m assuming something different is coming next?
James DeMonaco: There’s another project I wrote called Feral, that’s what I really want to do next – not that I don’t want to do The Purge 3 – but I wrote Feral already. I literally finished Feral the day before The Purge came out, and Universal was about to buy it, they read it the day before, we were about to start discussing moving forward, then The Purge opens, it does well, and Universal decided to shelve it for The Purge: Anarchy. [Laughs] We re-opened negotiations on [Feral], so I’m hoping that can come next.
WGTC: What is Feral about?
James DeMonaco: I’m not allowed to say because they’re about to buy it, but I need more money. It’s a big genre movie with some socio-political things, it’s more action/horror. There are other stories I want to tell, I just hope I get to do ‘em!
Remember – this is what DeMonaco would LIKE to do. If the numbers are right, you better believe that producers will push for another night of legalized slaughtering, just like what happened the first time DeMonaco tried to make Feral.
From the sound of things, this seems to be right in the filmmaker’s wheelhouse, as The Purge: Anarchy is jam packed with socio-political commentary about gun control, crime rates, and class battles, and with such a suggestive title (when something domesticated becomes wild again), one can assume a horrific bite will also accompany the dark story. It seems that DeMonaco has found a specific voice and style, and he’d like to continue honing these interesting ideas instead of branching out. For now, at least.
So while we wait to see how much profit The Purge: Anarchy scares up, I do hope James DeMonaco gets to do whatever HE wants to next. He sounded very excited about Feral, even though he couldn’t go too in-depth, but forcing a Purge sequel won’t help anyone. I’m hesitant to see another director take over DeMonaco’s unique franchise, but if his heart is elsewhere, then that decision is up to him.
Be sure to stay tuned as this story unfolds, and we’ll keep you up-to-date on Feral‘s development!
