The filmmaker of the Grinch parody horror film The Mean One, Steven LaMorte, has dropped indications that he may have finished the script's framework for a sequel.
The Grinch, portrayed by David Howard Thornton, in The Mean One
The forthcoming Grinch-inspired horror thriller The Mean One has a plan for a sequel, according to the film's director.
The planned film joins a growing trend in modern horror of reimagining beloved children's characters in a slasher context.
The Mean One may be ushering in a new, very weird, horror subgenre with 2019's The Banana Splits Movie and 2020's Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey (which transforms famous A.A. Milne characters like Pooh and Piglet into homicidal villains now that they have entered the public domain).
Before the December 9 release of The Mean One, EW conducted an interview with the film's director, Steven LaMorte.
During their discussion, he dropped several hints that the sequel's full outline is already finalized on his end.
Though he wouldn't confirm it outright, he did say that "if there was to be a second Mean One, the narrative would be insane."
See the rest of his words below:
Can I offer any suggestions for expanding The Mean One?
All the characters, most or all of the settings, and several sketches are planned out, and I may or may not have written many pages of the outline.
Honestly, I'm not sure.
As of right now, I have no idea what, if anything, I actually possess.
It would be a crazy narrative if there were a second Mean One, though.
Allegedly.
If it exists.
And I'm not claiming that it does!
Since the premiere of The Mean One, the fourth film version of Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas, has not yet occurred, LaMorte is unable to discuss his plans for future installments.
So far, what is known about the narrative of the first film is that it follows Cindy You-Know-Who (Krystle Martin) as she returns to the town of Newville after seeing a terrible murder on Christmas Eve when she was a youngster.
Now that she's returned, the murdering has began anew, and she sets out to stop the huge green murderer, who has come from the mountains above the town.
Chase Mullins, John Bigham, Erik Baker, Flip Kobler, and Amy Schumacher also feature in the movie.
David Howard Thornton, who played the renowned indie horror villain Art the Clown in Terrifier 2, will take on the role of The Mean One in this film.
In addition to being directed by LaMorte (who previously experimented with existing IP in the 2018 live-action short Powerpuff Girls: The Long Way Back), the film was co-written by Finn and Flip Kobler.
Flip started his career writing screenplays for Disney sequels like "Pocahontas 2: Journey to a New World," whereas Finn has less experience writing.
One thing that may limit The Mean One from receiving a sequel is the box office success of the original picture, which doesn't debut in theaters for two more days.
Even though indie horror films seldom succeed at the box office, Terrifier 2 showed that it may be worthwhile to take a chance on a smaller production like this.
If it does well at the box office this weekend, a sequel will appear more plausible, and LaMorte will have to finally start working on that outline.