While we eagerly anticipate the upcoming slasher film Clown in a Cornfield, author of the original books has recently shared that the book series will continue with a fourth novel.
Adam Cesare first published his Bram Stoker Award-winning YA horror novel Clown in a Cornfield in 2020, followed by a sequel in 2022 and a third book in 2024. According to a new interview the author did with Bloody Disgusting, a fourth novel is on the way called Clown in a Cornfield 4: Lights, Camera, Frendo!. Cesare didn't provide many other details about the book just yet, but he did tease that things are going to "get meta."
But the author also says he likes to name his books "in an almost counterintuitive way" to keep readers on edge. Readers don't necessarily know what to expect based on titles, so the "Lights, Camera, Frendo!" subtitle might not mean what you thinks.
"There’s going to be a whole lot of other sh** in there that is the secret… whatever the secret real story is.”
It sounds like the real-life movie might have been inspiration for what's to come in the fourth book, like maybe with someone wanting to make a movie on the town of Kettle Springs and Frendo's reign of terror in-universe.
Notably, the third book ends with an epilogue, but Cesare has been very clear that he doesn't intend to end the series as a trilogy, admitting to the outlet that he gets a little prickly when people label it as such, clarifying that he is planning to write a fourth book (and maybe more?).
Spoilers ahead for the third book, but things end in an intriguing place for the series as Cesare leaves the fate of the book's primary protagonist unknown, so the plot is going to pivot in a new direction moving forward.
There's still some time to check out Cesare's books before seeing the movie on the big screen. Clown in a Cornfield will be released nationwide on May 9 and later stream on Shudder. If you're really eager to see the film, you can take advantage of a fun opportunity to see it in a drive-in theaters exclusively this weekend starting on May 2. Theaters in Arizona, California, New York, Nevada, and Texas are participating.
Eli Craig directed and co-wrote the movie with Carter Blanchard. It stars Katie Douglas (Ginny & Georgia) as the lead character Quinn, who has recently moved to the town of Kettle Springs to get a fresh start with her dad, Dr. Maybrook (Aaron Abrams). Will Sasso, Carson MacCormac, and Kevin Durand also star.
Clown in a Cornfield arrives in theaters on May 9.