Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer will direct the Mama sequel
As reported shortly after the original film opened, plans are underway to turn Andres Muschietti’s Mama into a horror franchise. The Hollywood Reporter today brings word that the writing and directing pair behind 2014’s Starry Eyes, Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer, will both direct the Mama sequel and rewrite the current Mama sequel draft. TheWrap, meanwhile, reports that star Jessica Chastain is not expected to return. Whether that means that the film will recast her Annabel character or tell a wholly separate Mama story remains to be seen.
The original Mama, produced by Guillermo del Toro, offered a supernatural thriller with the haunting tale of two little girls who disappeared into the woods the day that their parents were killed. When they are rescued years later and begin a new life, they find that someone or something still wants to come tuck them in at night. Five years ago, sisters Victoria and Lilly vanished from their suburban neighborhood without a trace. Since then, their Uncle Lucas (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and his girlfriend, Annabel (Jessica Chastain), have been madly searching for them. But when, incredibly, the kids are found alive in a decrepit cabin, the couple wonders if the girls are the only guests they have welcomed into their home. As Annabel tries to introduce the children to a normal life, she grows convinced of an evil presence in their house. Are the sisters experiencing traumatic stress, or is a ghost coming to visit them? How did the broken girls survive those years all alone? As she answers these disturbing questions, the new mother will find that the whispers she hears at bedtime are coming from the lips of a deadly presence.
The original Mama was a sizable hit, pulling in $146 million at the worldwide box office.
Are you excited for a Mama sequel? How closely should the sequel tie to the original? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
