As he branches out away from the world of horror, Mike Flanagan offers a cautiously optimistic update forOculus 2. The 2014 horror movie served asFlanagan’s first wide releaseand an adaptation of his short filmOculus: Chapter 3 – The Man with the Plan, centered on Karen Gillan’s Kaylie and Brenton Thwaites' Tim confronting the literal demons of their past in the form of a haunted mirror that led to the deaths of their parents. Garnering largely positive reviews and grossing nine times its budget, the movie was an early step in Flanagan’s eventual successful career.
While speaking withScreen Rantfor the Toronto International Film Festival premiere of his new movie,The Life of Chuck, Flanagan was asked about the possibility ofOculus 2happening. The writer/director confirmedhe has “a lot of stories” in that universe that he would “love to tell”, though indicated that the biggest hurdle facing development on a sequel is determining who owns the rights to the original. See what Flanagan explained below:
Oh, I don’t know. We’d have to untangle who owns Oculus 2. I think that would be the thing. I don’t know what the rights situation is for that. All to say, though, there were always a lot of stories with that I’d love to tell. Working with Karen is always phenomenal. I’m so glad I got to do it again, although I don’t know how to bring her back into the Oculus world without bringing her back from the dead. But Annalise Basso, also in this, is from Oculus. It’s very cool.
What This Means For Oculus 2’s Chances
Half Of The Original Movie’s Studios Have Gone In Different Directions
To Flanagan’s point, the rights situation surrounding the originalOculusis in a somewhat unclear place in the decade since the movie came out. The 2014 movie was distributed to American theaters by Relativity Media,a brand which has since fallen into turmoil following their bankruptcy filing in 2018. Further complicating matters is that for its home release, 20th Century Fox released the movie in the U.S. and some other territories, while Warner Home Video released it in the United Kingdom and Universal Studios Home Entertainment in Canada.
In addition to the studios who distributed the film,Oculusalso had multiple producers behind it, including Blumhouse Productions, Trevor Macy’s Intrepid Pictures, the now-dormant MICA Entertainment, and WWE Studios.Flanagan’s relationship has remained solid with Blumhouse in the decade since, includinghis upcoming return for the nextExorcistmovie, though WWE Studios has largely moved away from feature-length efforts, as such if they held any rights to the original, it may complicateOculus 2’s chances.
How Likely Is Oculus 2 To Actually Happen?
Flanagan Has A Pretty Full Dance Card At The Moment
Beyond the rights situation, though, the other major hurdle facingOculus 2’s chances is the fact thatFlanagan has a pretty full docket of projects coming up. AsThe Life of Chuckawaits a wide release date after its TIFF premiere, the writer/director is gradually putting together his TV adaptation ofKing’sDark Towernovel franchise, frequently discussing the mammoth scale he envisions for the show, indicating multiple seasons' worth of stories in mind for it. He also has the aforementionedExorcistmovie at Blumhouse, which is set for a March 2026 release date.
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While a push from fans of the originalOculuscould inspire Flanagan to revisit his breakout horror universe in the future, it seems more likely that the 2014 movie will remain a standalone title. The filmmaker has yet to pass off the reins of his properties to any other creatives, making it unlikely that he would do so forOculus. Plus, with a decade gone since the first movie released, general audience interest may no longer be there for a sequel.
Oculus
Cast
Eleven years after her brother Tim is accused of murdering their parents, Kaylie Russel attempts to research document the supernatural powers of an antique mirror, which drove him to commit the crimes. Meanwhile, flashbacks tell the story of the mirror’s haunting during the siblings' childhood, and the true story of the deaths of their parents.
