Smile 2 Enlists Charlie’s Angels Star For Horror Hit Sequel
A sequel to 2022’s Smile is in the works. Though the storyline for Smile 2 is very much under wraps, Naomi Scott will take on the lead role in the highly-anticipated psychological supernatural horror sequel. Most well known for her portrayals of Princess Jasmine in the live-action adaptation of Aladdin and Elena Houghlin in 2019’s Charlie’s Angels, it will be interesting to see Scott take on a more sinister role.
Given the resounding success of the first film, the development of Smile 2 was an inevitability. Upon Smile’s September 2022 release, it quickly earned over $217 million against its reported budget of $17 million, making it a commercial success. Talks of a horror sequel were in the ether as early as November 2022, when writer and director Parker Finn suggested that he already had ideas to move the franchise forward.
Known for its deeply disturbing visuals and playing into viewer’s fear of the unknown, Smile was a runaway hit praised for its expert use of jump scares to get under everybody’s skin in all the right ways. Smile garnered a 79 percent critical score against an audience score of 77 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, which is beyond impressive when you consider how polarizing horror movies tend to be on the critical front.
Knowing that he had a potential hit on his hands ahead of its release, Parker Finn has stated in interviews that he intentionally left a number of plot lines unresolved so he could further pursue them if Smile 2 were to be green-lit.
What remains to be seen, however, is if Smile 2 will pick up where its predecessor left off or will center on an entirely new group of principal characters. Though Finn mentioned that Smile had an ambiguous ending, it’s safe to say that Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon) met her fate at the end of the film, passing the sardonically smiling entity’s curse onto her ex-boyfriend, Joel. If the story moves forward, we could potentially see how Joel’s curse plays into the Smile universe.
Smile 2 could also shift gears and explore the backstory of the evil entity that we were introduced to in the first film. So there are two different timelines to consider: a continuation or an origin story.
What remains to be seen, however, is what role Naomi Scott will play in Smile 2. If we’re dealing with a continuation, she could possibly be Joel’s current girlfriend, who now has to deal with the fact that her partner is possessed by a demon that feeds off of trauma. If Finn decides to place emphasis on an earlier timeline in the upcoming sequel, Scott could very well be one of the entity’s early victims, providing insight into how the demonic curse manifested in the mortal realm.
As of this writing, Naomi Scott’s role in Smile 2 is undisclosed, but we’re excited about this development. Up until this point in time, Scott has made a name for herself, starring in movies that are considerably more light-hearted, and it will be interesting to see what she can bring to the table in the horror genre.
Smile 2 is slated for an October 18, 2024 release, and we’ll circle back with updates as more casting and production updates surface.
Source: Deadline
