Fantasy Island: Does the ending mean that a potential sequel could happen?

Fantasy Island isn’t exactly getting a lot of love from critics, but the ending of the film does seem to set up a potential franchise.

Fantasy Island is Blumhouse’s latest horror film and a much darker reimagining of the original fantasy drama television series. The film follows a group of young adults who arrive at the island in the hopes of having their wildest dreams come true. Unfortunately for them, Mr. Rourke has other plans in mind.

Spoiler warning: The following article contains spoilers for the ending of the film.

Currently, Fantasy Island is floundering with critics, but because it has such a low budget of only $7 million, there is a good chance the movie could be a financial success, stranger things have happened. It has a lot going for it, including a PG-13 rating and the draw of popular actress Lucy Hale.

If Fantasy Island makes enough money, the odds are that Blumhouse will opt to make a sequel. The ending does set up the possibility, although it’s unlikely that the original cast will return, aside from Michael Peña and Jimmy O. Yang.

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At the end of the film, Gwen, JD, and Sloane all manage to escape the island. Melanie dies after her evil plan is foiled, and Patrick sacrifices himself to save the rest of the group.

Brax winds up staying behind with Mr. Rourke as he uses his fantasy to resurrect his brother and give him a great life after he died earlier in the movie. However, the only way JD can thrive is if Brax stays behind on the island forever to ensure the fantasy doesn’t end.

At first, Brax staying behind seems like no big deal, but then the movie delivers a final nod to the original series by revealing his chest tattoo, which says “Tattoo.” For those unfamiliar with the 1978 show, it might not mean anything, but Tattoo was the name of the original Mr. Rourke’s assistant. The role was originated by Hervé Villechaize.

In this new version, it looks like Brax would be taking over for Villechaize as the next Tattoo. If a sequel gets made, we could see Mr. Rourke and Brax continuing to use the island as a way to bring in more travelers.

Since Patrick threw himself on the grenade, we can assume that the magical spring fulfilling all of these fantasies is still functioning — how else would JD have been resurrected?

What did you think about Fantasy Island in theaters? Were you surprised by the ending? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Fantasy Island is currently playing in theaters.