Back in January, THR reported that New Line Cinema had started work on a “re-imagining” of the Final Destination series. And while we haven’t heard much news on the matter since, franchise regular Tony Todd has at least made it clear that he’s game to return.
In an interview with Forbes, the actor recalled how there was a push a few years ago for another installment in the popular horror series, but the campaign ultimately petered out:
“As far as Final Destination and its creator, Jeffrey Reddick, are concerned, whenever Jeffrey calls, because of our friendship, I have to listen. It’s been eight years since the last Final Destination. We thought we would have had one before now and there was a tremendous amount of lobbying about three years ago but we just let it go.”
Mere days before news of the upcoming reboot first broke, Todd went on record explaining why there probably won’t ever be another Final Destination movie. While the series has always made money, the actor argued that there are currently other horror properties out there like the Annabelle flicks that can yield comparable box office figures on lower budgets.
Evidently, Todd spoke too soon. But while the star is happy to reprise his role as creepy coroner William Bludworth, he also told Forbes that he’s interested in helping filmmakers tell stories that aren’t based on preexisting properties:
“However, as things do in Hollywood, people often go back to the tried and the true. It’s something of a double-edged sword. Yes, I would like to be involved in something that would hopefully be a blockbuster, but I’m interested in seeing new filmmakers telling new stories and to able to help them do that.”
Incidentally, another horror reboot where Todd’s involvement is still up in the air is the upcoming Candyman film. As it stands, we wouldn’t bet on the star reprising his role as the title character of the series, but either way, Todd has expressed his confidence in the project, not least because Us and Get Out helmsman Jordan Peele is producing.
The next Final Destination, meanwhile, is being written by Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan, whose previous credits include several of the Saw sequels and 2012’s Piranha 3DD. Clearly New Line isn’t aiming for a real critic-pleaser, then, but it’s likely that the reboot will find its audience regardless.