1988’s Killer Klowns from Outer Space is a cult favorite for its bizarre premise, ghoulish kills, and special effects from the Chiodo brothers. A sequel has been on the cards for many years, with SyFy apparently having an interest in producing a follow-up to the original film, and director Stephen Chiodo has now commented on the likelihood of us getting a new Killer Klowns feature, emphasizing how fan support will be crucial to anything happening.
Speaking to ComicBook.com, Chiodo had this to say about how a support campaign would help Killer Klowns 2 to become a reality:
“Look, MGM controls Killer Klowns. If [fans] write MGM and say, ‘Where’s our sequel? Where’s that property?’ There’s so many ways they can exploit this thing. It’s really the fan base. The fan base has to be more vocal to MGM more than us, because they control it. But I’m just so happy. That was a project that, we just wanted to make a film that we loved. Again, Forbidden Planet, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, all the films that we loved is thrown into that. And I’m really pleased that people responded to it.”
Chiodo also revealed that he’s spoken to Netflix about funding an update to Killer Klowns, after the 1980s classic received a popular response on the streaming platform, explaining:
“There’s interest, and it wanes and flows. You get some executives who really want to do it, then, all of a sudden, musical chairs. They’re out, a new regime is in, and they don’t get it. We’ll see how Alien Xmas does with the Netflix people. We’ll see if they can embrace our sensibility.”
The good relationship between the Chiodo brothers and Netflix will hopefully grow if Alien Xmas, their festive stop-motion production, turns out to be a hit with subscribers. We wouldn’t imagine that a Killer Klowns movie will be a particularly costly project, either, especially if the Chiodos stick with practical effects, at least for most of the clown-based action.
It’s not a surprise, though, that the directors are cautious about seeing these ideas ever get made, given the long history of development hell they’ve experienced. There’s also been talk of going down the reboot route rather than a straightforward continuation of the first instalment’s story, which could be more appealing to investors.
In any case, given the number of options now available for filmmakers to revive well loved material, we don’t think it’s out of the question that Killer Klowns from Outer Space 2 will eventually be made. Indeed, well orchestrated fan campaigns have proven to be successful at persuading studios that there’s money to be earned, even in the case of big budget works like Alita: Battle Angel. For now, though, we’d recommend checking out Killer Klowns from Outer Space on Netflix, and maybe sending a message to MGM if you want to see more.
