(Updated 08/22/2024)
Following a surprise hit movie with a sequel is always a challenge. With SMILE, the 2022 horror breakout that surprised everyone, the task of crafting a follow-up seems more daunting than most. You can't expect the same formula to work in the same way. But for SMILE 2, writer/director Parker Finn has come up with some great ideas.
Inspired, perhaps, by the mega-huge tours of artists like Taylor Swift and Beyoncè, SMILE 2 follows a pop star whose new tour might not go as planned, because the singer is facing a demonic incursion in the form of a strange smiling presence.
Here's the first trailer for SMILE 2, and everything else we know about the horror sequel.
What's the Smile 2 Release Date?
Thanks to Paramount Pictures, you can see SMILE 2 in theaters on October 18, 2024
Watch the First Smile 2 Trailer
This first teaser trailer for SMILE 2 promises something different from the first movie. With a new lead character, a very different setting, and some new motivations that set the horror in motion.
What's the Plot of Smile 2?
Officially, the plot description of SMILE 2 is "About to embark on a new world tour, global pop sensation Skye Riley (Naomi Scott) begins experiencing increasingly terrifying and inexplicable events. Overwhelmed by the escalating horrors and the pressures of fame, Skye is forced to face her dark past to regain control of her life before it spirals out of control."
One thing we should not expect is for the shadowy entity at the center of both SMILE and SMILE 2 to be explained in full. This probably isn't a backstory. Filmmaker Parker Finn knows the value of mystery, and isn't likely to give up all of the entity's secrets.
How Does Smile 2 Connect to the First Movie?
It looks like only one character from SMILE might return for SMILE 2: That's Joel, the cop played by Kyle Gallner who (spoilers for the first movie ahead) survived the first movie even as the smiling curse was passed to him by his ex-girlfriend, Rose, at the end of the first movie.
Who's in the Cast of Smile 2?
In SMILE 2, Naomi Scott stars as the pop star Skye Riley, who is trying to take her career to the next level with a huge tour. Rosemarie DeWitt has a big role as well, and as mentioned above, Kyle Gallner returns as Joel, a police officer who is cursed with the Smile Entity.
The cast also features Lukas Gage, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Peter Jacobson, Raúl Castillo, Dylan Gelula, and Ray Nicholson. We'll learn more about their roles as the movie gets closer to release.
SMILE 2 opens on October 18.
All images courtesy of Paramount Pictures.