Longlegs director Oz Perkins is aware that a sequel to the Nicolas Cage horror film could happen due to its box office success. However, according to the filmmaker, that does not necessarily mean it should, as leaving the film and the fate of Lee Harker (Maika Monroe) untouched may be the boldest choice.
In an interview with Dexerto before the film’s release, Perkins discussed the prospect of continuing the Longlegs storyline in a sequel. The heart-stopping marketing campaign generated a palpable buzz around Longlegs, which prompted sequel discussions before it even reached theaters nationwide. Perkins needed concrete box office results before committing to any follow-up ideas, but he understood the general desire to see more if Longlegs was deemed successful.
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Let’s see how it does at the box office. That’s what informs all things. I think that, yes, of course, once you’ve settled on something that seems to work and people enjoy it, there’s the nagging impulse to think, ‘We could probably do that again and stretch it out a little bit.
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Well, Longlegs has had an excellent box office run. With a budget of less than $10 million, the indie film grossed just over $100 million at the worldwide box office. It’s a resounding financial success, one that would typically sound the alarms for the start of a new horror franchise. That said, Perkins is still not all-in on a potential Longlegs sequel, which he sees as a far too easy answer to the film’s success.
Longlegs Director Says Leaving It Alone May Be the Answer
The return of Lee Harker, who is brilliantly played by Maika Monroe, and the Longlegs storyline would likely be a welcome development following the film’s acceptance by critics and general audiences. In the same interview with Dexerto, Oz Perkins seems open to revisiting Longlegs in a sequel, but he also remarked that leaving the film and its ending alone is the more difficult and “glorious” option.
But there’s also something glorious about leaving things alone, right? That’s harder to do, isn’t it? Isn’t it harder to leave something alone than it is to try to do it again?
It’s not clear if the critical and financial success of Longlegs has since swayed Perkins one way or the other. However, the director made an extremely valid point in believing that making a sequel to a hit horror movie like Longlegs is the easy way forward. Success does not have to mean that more is better than leaving things settled. Considering the film does not give many straightforward answers to the questions it raises, it seems against the nature of Longlegs to have it continue.
The ending of the film leaves the door open for Lee Harker’s return, but it is also a perfectly fine way of concluding it. Perkins always meant to end Longlegs with the worst possible outcome for Lee Harker. The devil claims victory despite Harker’s best efforts, and the film does not definitively answer her eventual fate. The suspense of the final moments coupled with the tragic outcome fuels debates on what happens next, but perhaps that is the beauty of Longlegs as a standalone horror film.
Longlegs
is now available to stream on digital VOD and is scheduled to be released on physical media on September 24.