One of the questions that fans have regarding the upcoming horror sequel, Black Phone 2, is how The Grabber is still alive despite his death at the end of the first movie.
Following its theatrical success in 2022, The Black Phone is back this year with a sequel that takes place four years after the events of the first movie. The majority of the cast and crew are returning, including director Scott Derrickson and Ethan Hawke, who played The Grabber. However, considering that the villain died in the first movie, fans are wondering why we will see him again in the sequel.
How is The Grabber Still Alive in Black Phone 2?
While he met his demise at the end of the first movie, The Grabber will be returning as the main villain once again in Black Phone 2, with Hawke reprising the role.
You might be wondering how the character is still "alive" in the sequel despite his death. The answer is simple: He will be showing up as a supernatural entity/vengeful spirit, rather than a living person.
The Grabber's role in the sequel is akin to Freddy Krueger in the A Nightmare on Elm Street movies, and he will be terrorizing Finn and Gwen from beyond the grave.
"I thought a lot about Robert Englund. It was hard not to. The body language is so inspiring, how to communicate character through body language," Hawke explained to USA Today. "As soon as you put on a mask, it almost feels like Greek theater. I get into that aspect of it."
Hawke admitted that he was hesitant to start in the sequel, but he changed his mind after Derrickson pitched him the idea of where he would focus the second movie this time around.
"He had a really amazing idea to invert the lead of the film, to follow [Gwen], and to follow them through trauma recovery," he said.
"The whole first film is about young people growing up in an unsafe world, where the grown-ups, the parent class, are incredibly disappointing, and they have to take responsibility for themselves. The second one had the really smart idea of saying, 'Well, what happens after that? How do you recover from that experience?'"
What is Black Phone 2 About?
In Black Phone 2, Hawke returns to the most sinister role of his career as The Grabber seeks vengeance on Finn from beyond the grave by menacing Finn’s younger sister, Gwen.
As Finn, now 17, struggles with life after his captivity, the headstrong 15-year-old Gwen begins receiving calls in her dreams from the black phone and seeing disturbing visions of three boys being stalked at a winter camp known as Alpine Lake.
Determined to solve the mystery and end the torment for both her and her brother, Gwen persuades Finn to visit the camp during a winter storm. There, she uncovers a shattering intersection between The Grabber and her own family’s history. Together, she and Finn must confront a killer who has grown more powerful in death and more significant to them than either could imagine.
Aside from Hawke, the cast includes Mason Thames, Madeleine McGraw, Demián Bichir, Miguel Mora, Jeremy Davies, and Arianna Rivas. It is set to release in North American theaters this October 17.
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