‘The Blackening 2’ In the Works at Lionsgate

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The Big Picture

Lionsgate and MRC have announced a sequel to The Blackening, the horror-comedy that was praised for subverting genre tropes and exploring characters’ relationship with their Blackness.
The Blackening received positive reviews from critics and audiences, with an 87% Rotten Tomatoes score for critics and a solid box office performance, earning $18 million on a $5 million budget.
The original film was written by Tracy Oliver and Dewayne Perkins, both of whom are confirmed to return for the sequel. Returning cast members have not yet been announced.

Lionsgate and MRC have just announced that a sequel to the horror-comedy The Blackening is in the works, as first reported by Variety. The news follows about five months after the feature made its wide theatrical premiere in June. It initially debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2022.

Based on the Comedy Central skit, The Blackening follows a group of friends who reunite to enjoy the Juneteenth weekend with each other. Where better to celebrate a holiday than a remote cabin in the woods? However, their vacation quickly devolves into a nightmare when a mysterious serial killer forces them to play a board game called The Blackening. So, the race is on to stop the game (whose current dilemma is to sacrifice the Blackest amongst them) and the killer before the casualties rack up.

The Blackening was written by Tracy Oliver (Girls Trip, Harlem) and star Dewayne Perkins (The Upshaws, Brooklyn Nine-Nine), who plays Dewayne in the feature. It was directed by Tim Story (Think Like a Man). At the time of this writing, Oliver and Perkins are confirmed to return for the sequel, along with producer E. Brian Dobbins. The Blackening also stars Jermaine Fowler, Grace Byers, Antoinette Robinson, Yvonne Orji, Melvin Gregg, X Mayo, Sinqua Walls, and Jay Pharoah. There’s no word yet on who will return for the sequel.

’The Blackening’ Was a Resounding Success

Since its release, The Blackening has cemented itself as a worthy addition to the horror genre, striking just the right chords with critics and general audiences alike. It currently sits at an 87% Rotten Tomatoes score for critics, with an audience score of 85%. Not looking at the numbers, The Blackening has been praised for subverting genre tropes while leaning into its genre, and it also offers a deeper examination of its characters and their relationship with their Blackness. The feature also had a solid box office performance, earning approximately $18 million at the global box office on $5 million total budget.

About the film, The Blackening team previously spoke to Collider’s Steve Weintraub about creating a unique story, with Perkins saying, “Being able to take these tropes and find exactly what makes them complex, what gives them depth, and then forcing that in the movie so that when you start watching it, you see what has been in horror movies before and then the goal of the movie is to constantly break down your assumptions of these characters by constantly forcing depth.” Additionally, Mayo noted the importance of projects like The Blackening and Oliver’s Girls Trip, among others, placing Black creatives in positions of power.