Following the surprise announcement of its development, Alexandre Aja has a promising update on Crawl 2‘s filming timeline. Aja helmed the original 2019 horror movie and produced it alongside Evil Dead creator Sam Raimi, with the movie centering on Kaya Scodelario’s Haley as she and her estranged father became trapped in their old family home during a Category 5 hurricane with alligators swarming in to attack. Crawl saw largely positive reviews from critics, holding an 84% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and was a box office sleeper hit, grossing $91 million against its reported $15 million production budget.
During a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter for the Halle Berry-led horror movie Never Let Go, Aja was asked about progress on Crawl 2‘s development. The producer/director started off by recalling how he “never really stopped working on Crawl“, having continued to formulate ideas for how to make a sequel to his original hit:
I would say that I never really stopped working on Crawl. (Laughs.) After we were done, I kept thinking about all the other great setups that we could create, and it was really an exciting movie to make.
Aja then went on to acknowledge that the COVID-19 pandemic led to the project going on the backburner, though assured he still “wanted to be really be involved” in Crawl 2 should it eventually move forward. In looking to the future, the filmmaker confirmed he’s “ready to go” on the sequel, even indicating that “hopefully next year, it might happen” as he continues to put together scenes for the film:
So I wanted to really be involved in doing a sequel, and after a few troubled years with Covid and everything, I feel like we are now in a position that, hopefully next year, it might happen. So I’m excited. I’m ready to go. I’ve been lining up so many scenes and stuff, so it’s there. We just have to do it now and get back in the water.
What This Means For Crawl 2
The Wait For The Sequel Won’t Be Too Terrible
Aja’s comments are a promising sign that development is progressing smoothly on Crawl 2 following its confirmation in August 2024, when it was also announced that Project Almanac duo Andrew Deutschman and Jason Pagan would be taking over scripting duties from original writers Michael and Shawn Rasmussen. Though the filmmaker doesn’t give a specific window for when filming will begin on the sequel, it was previously reported that the sequel would begin filming in Fall 2025 in Europe, which would give him enough time to lay out the cast and specific location to shoot.
That being said, the fact that Aja says he’s already “lining up so many scenes” could suggest that Crawl 2 will begin filming even sooner. Though it won’t likely change Paramount’s release plan, as the studio is most likely aiming for a Summer 2026 release in the hopes of recapturing the first Crawl‘s success at the box office, it would still give Aja more time during filming and post-production. However, if Smile 2‘s upcoming release is just as big of a hit as its predecessor, Paramount may look to save Crawl 2 for a Halloween season release, thus giving Aja more time.
Our Take On Crawl 2
Aja’s Dedication To Delivering On The Success Of The First Is Promising
Natural monster movies like Crawl are not only rare to get sequels, but also rarely get good ones, and yet Aja’s optimism about Crawl 2 does give me a lot of hope about the chances he’ll repeat the success of the original. The fact he took five years to properly develop his ideas for a follow-up does show he’s approaching the follow-up with the best of intentions rather than as a ploy for more money.
Another reason why I have faith in Crawl 2‘s chances at success is the fact that Aja has yet to actually direct any sequels to his prior works. That’s not to say that some of Aja’s past movies haven’t led to sequels, as his remakes of Wes Craven’s The Hill Have Eyes and Joe Dante’s Piranha were both successes enough to warrant follow-ups, neither of which he was a part of. With Crawl 2 being his first, Aja’s emotional attachment to the project is sure to result in a worthwhile follow-up.
Source: THR