Underrated scream queen Maika Monroe teases It Follows sequel will be 'bigger and darker'
By Mads Lennon
I've been beating the drums of the Maika Monroe fan train for a long time now as the talented actress and scream queen continues to pick excellent horror and thriller flicks to star in, with her next big project, Longlegs, arguably one of the most highly anticipated horror movies of the year. It's already getting crazy buzz from critics and debuted with a perfect 100% approval score on Rotten Tomatoes. But while ahead of its release, Monroe took some time to tease another big horror project she's working on, They Follow, a sequel to the 2016 cult hit It Follows.
Speaking to Collider about the film, she teases that the follow-up will be "bigger and darker and more f**ked up." Obviously, Monroe will return as the protagonist, Jay Height. David Robert Mitchell is also back to write and direct the sequel. He also has a new sci-fi in the works called Flowervale Street that's due out next year.
Monroe says she's read the script for They Follow and feels confident in the story, saying Mitchell "wouldn't ever make a sequel if he didn't think it was going to top it." According to a previous Deadline article, the film will go into production sometime this year.
When we last saw her character, Jay, she and her friends had seemingly defeated the entity and escaped, though the film's final shot leaves their fate ambiguous as we see Jay and Paul (Keir Gilchrist) walking down the street with a figure following behind them.
In They Follow, Monroe says people might be surprised to see where Jay has ended up.
" I think where you'll meet Jay at this point is maybe not what's expected, but it's so cool. "
She describes her role in the movie as challenging, "but so fulfilling."
Like I said above and in the headline of this article, I've long considered Monroe to be one of the best horror actresses of this generation, and a lot of that also comes down to her having a knack for picking the right roles. Just about every genre film she's been in has been great, from The Guest to Watcher to Significant Other to It Follows, and now it looks like Longlegs is yet another stellar project in her filmography.
Stay tuned to 1428 Elm for more information on They Follow and don't miss Longlegs in theaters on July 12.