Death isn’t taking a break anytime soon. Off the back of Final Destination: Bloodlines shattering franchise records earlier this year, New Line Cinema is moving forward with a seventh instalment in the long-running horror series.
Lori Evans Taylor, who co-wrote Bloodlines, will return to write the script for the new chapter solo. Brought to life with a reported budget of USD$58 million, Bloodlines pulled in over $285 million worldwide – $138 million of that from domestic U.S. ticket sales – making it the most successful entry in the franchise to date.
As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, the creative team that revived the franchise earlier this year will remain heavily involved. Alongside Taylor, producers Craig Perry, Sheila Hanahan Taylor, Jon Watts, Dianne McGunigle, and Toby Emmerich are all back, with Warren Zide returning as executive producer.
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Watts, who also directed Spider-Man: Homecoming, played a key role in shaping Bloodlines’ story with Taylor and Ready or Not writer Guy Busick.
Expanding the rules of death
Perry, who has produced every film in the franchise, told Deadline earlier this year that Bloodlines’ period-spanning story opened up creative possibilities for future instalments. “That’s one of the things that Jon Watts, by bringing in the idea of starting in the ’60s and jumping forward 50 years, I think has liberated us creatively to be able to go to a lot of different places in time and to make connections that we wouldn’t have been able to do otherwise,” he said.
“And I think that expansion, that sort of satellite view of the plan, I think is going to hopefully allow us an opportunity in the future to have even more interesting and creative deaths for the fans to enjoy.”
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Perry added that the lack of ongoing main characters is part of the series’ enduring appeal: “That’s why this franchise is weirdly evergreen, because we don’t have necessarily continuing characters, so you can jump around. And the whole point of it is that it’s relatable, they’re in environments and situations that you might find yourself in.”
A horror legacy that won’t die
Since debuting in 2000, Final Destination has built a reputation for elaborate, Rube Goldberg-style death scenes and a premise that’s easily reinvented with each film: a premonition saves a handful of people from a deadly disaster, only for Death – an unstoppable, unseen force – to claim them one by one. Across six films, the franchise has earned over $983 million worldwide, making it New Line’s third-biggest horror brand behind The Conjuring Universe and It.
No release date, cast, or director for Final Destination 7 has been announced yet, but with its proven box office draw and relatively quick turnaround times, fans may not have long to wait before Death strikes again.
