Break out the studded baseball cap and prepare to obey the house rules. Octavia Spencer will reprise her role as the deeply unsettling Sue Ann from the 2019 surprise hit Ma.Blumhouse Productions announced this week at their Business of Fear symposium that a sequel to Ma is indeed happening, and the Oscar winner plans to return.
Though the sequel is in its very early stages, with no plot details released yet, Blumhouse's founder/CEO Jason Blum did comment on the film. “Ma has proven to be a social phenomenon since its release in 2019, with fans eagerly embracing the film and Octavia’s iconic performance as Ma. Ma likes to say, ‘don’t make me drink alone,’ so we’re thrilled Octavia will join us again for a second round," Blum said.
The original film, directed by The Help's Tate Taylor, was a major hit, amassing more than $60 million at the worldwide box office on a reported production cost of only $5 million. Spencer's Sue Ann is a lonely, middle-aged woman who befriends a group of teens. She invites them to party in the basement of her home, if, and only if, they follow a strict set of rules. Suddenly, Ma/Sue Ann's true colors show, and her obsession turns into quite the nightmare for the teens.
Blumhouse's commitment to a Ma sequel stems, in part, from survey results on the state of horror that they released at their symposium, the first for the company. The revenge subgenre, which Ma certainly fits into, is one of the 24 thriving subgenres that Blumhouse identified in its study, according to Deadline. Other subgenres include slasher, survival, and psychological thriller. The symposium also addressed the way that horror has grown in recent years. The survey included 2,000 respondents, was conducted by Sage Outcomes, and commissioned by Blumhouse last July.
Spencer's filmography is quite long, with roles in The Shape of Water, The Help, Hidden Figures, among many other features. She won an Oscar in 2012 for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Minny Jackson in The Help. Since then, she continues to be a box office draw.
Though we still don't know any major details about the Ma sequel, here's hoping that Sue Ann breaks out her studded hat and tortures some more teens. Maybe she'll even have a different set of rules this time. Until then, since the sequel is only in its earliest stages of production, keep an eye out for further developments.
Ma is currently available to stream on Hulu with a premium prescription.