Horror Sequels: Butterfly Effect 2, Final Destination 3 and The Ring 3

Originally Published: March 21, 2005

I don’t know how exciting this news is. I saw The Ring Two over the weekend, and was not impressed. In fact, generally speaking, sequels tend to lose the very elements that made the original a film good enough to have sequels made from its storyline. But I am a true horror fan, so I have hope. Here are the candidates: The Butterfly Effect 2, Final Destination 3 and The Ring 3.

The Butterfly Effect is spreading its wings again. Filmengine has approved a pitch for a sequel to the 2004 New Line Cinema hit. Butterfly Effect 2 will have all new characters, meaning the original’s star, Ashton Kutcher, isn’t expected to be involved. The film will follow the premise of the first, about a young man who finds that he can travel back and forth in time and tries to change his life for the better, with unintended and unwelcome consequences. Shooting is expected to begin the moment the ink is dry on the script, so expect that one late this year or early 2006.

Meanwhile, get ready for Cheating Death: Final Destination 3. This time, it’s an accident at a fair that our teens escape before the Grim Reaper picks them off one-by-one. The Ring 2’s Ryan Merriman and Mary Elizabeth Winstead will star as the teens that just can’t escape death, no matter how hard they try, and once again facing off against dark forces.

Finally, speaking of The Ring 2, a second sequel is currently being discussed, with work already underway on a third script. And since The Ring 2 continued to live up to a strong opening weekend when it took a very respectable $36 million, expect Ring 3 to follow close behind. However, there’s no word yet on whether this will be a prequel like the Japanese Ring 0 or follow a storyline arch that continues past the events that have taken place, nor whether Naomi Watts or director Hideo Nakata will return.