Danny and Michael Philippou just released their acclaimed new horror film Bring Her Back and it already has people talking because of its heavy themes and gruesome content. It's an incredible film, terrifying and bolstered by phenomenal performances across the board. Those who have already seen Talk to Me likely had an idea of what to expect going into the new movie, but in some ways it is even darker than its predecessor.
With both films utilizing similar themes of grief and heavily featuring the occult, it didn't take long for fans to begin theorizing that the two movies might share a universe. Well, during a recent interview, the Philippou brothers confirmed that rumor to be true, even revealing that Bring Her Back has a very hidden little Talk to Me easter egg featuring Sophie Wilde's character Mia.
And when I say hidden, I do mean hidden. There's almost no way that the average watcher would recognize Wilde's brief part in the movie. In fact, Wilde herself doesn't even make a full appearance, only her limb does during a scene where she's playing a character dubbed "Middle Aged Mum #4."
Chatting with The Hollywood Reporter, the filmmakers shared that they want to continue incorporating Wilde into their projects in every movie they make, "even if it's just a voice in the background."
Mentioning the specific moment in Bring Her Back, Danny says that her head was "actually cut out of the movie, you just see her arm." Considering that Talk to Me features characters communicating with the dead via an embalmed hand, that feels very fitting. Wilde visited the set to support the them while they were making their new film.
"And we love her to death for it," says Danny.
Wilde is something like the filmmakers's good luck charm, which was why it was so important to them that she returned, even just for a minor part.
Later during the interview, THR asks them directly about the shared universe and Danny says they are, in addition to teasing a "mixed media thing" that they're developing that will further show how the two projects tie together.
Zach Cregger (Barbarian) is another up-and-coming horror director with a new movie releasing later this year in Weapons, and, funnily enough, some promotion for that movie confirmed Weapons and Barbarian also share a universe.
As for what's next for Danny and Michael, they do intend to make a sequel to Talk to Me at some point in the future, but they have two different ideas for the story, one of which focuses on a new group of characters and another that revisits the ones from the first film. It will probably be a few more years before we see the sequel come to fruition as the directors want to revisit it with fresh eyes.