Ethan Hawke Discusses His Return as The Grabber in The Black Phone 2

Summary

• Ethan Hawke is unsure about what new elements of his character, The Grabber, he will explore in The Black Phone 2.
• Hawke trusts director Scott Derrickson to push him as an actor and take The Grabber in the right direction in the sequel.
• The Black Phone 2 is unlikely to delve into the origins of The Grabber, as the director believes that villains are more interesting with an air of mystery.

Ethan Hawke has addressed his return as the serial killer The Grabber in the upcoming horror sequel The Black Phone 2, revealing that he currently has “no idea” what new elements of the character he will explore. Speaking with Screen Rant, Hawke, who portrayed the terrifying The Grabber in 2021’s The Black Phone, conveyed his love for all kinds of movies and storytelling from every genre, including horror.

“I have no idea. I have no idea what I’m trying to explore with my life. I’m an actor and I really enjoy storytelling in all its — there’s a place for small art film, and there’s a place for a love story, and there’s a place for, ‘Let’s get together and watch a movie at midnight and scare the hell out of each other,’ right?”

Ultimately, Hawke trusts in The Black Phone director Scott Derrickson to ensure that he has pushes himself as an actor and takes The Grabber in the right direction in the sequel, which is now set for release in 2025.

“If you’re a performer, I have a love for all those different genres, of the ways to tell stories, and I’ve spent my life trying to push myself to do different kinds of things. That director, Scott Derrickson, is really brilliant, and if he asks me to do something, I’ll do it.”

Based on the short story by Joe Hill, The Black Phone follows a boy who is kidnapped by a mysterious and deranged killer, known as The Grabber. While in captivity, he discovers that he can communicate with the previous victims via an unconnected phone. Considering The Grabber’s fate in The Black Phone, we can only wonder the (possibly supernatural) way in which he will return…

The sequel is now being developed by Scott Derrickson, with Hawke set to reprise his role alongside Mason Thames, Madeleine McGraw, Jeremy Davies, and Miguel Cazarez Mora.

RELATED: 10 Horror Movies to Watch If You Loved The Black Phone

The Black Phone 2 Is Unlikely to Explore the Origins of The Grabber

The Black Phone

Robert Cargill and Scott Derrickson adapt a script based on Joe Hill’s sory, The Black Phone. Ethan Hawke stars as a child killer whose latest abductee is receiving calls from dead victims.

While details of what The Black Phone sequel will involve remain unknown, it is unlikely to explore the origins of Hawke’s villainous The Grabber. Director Scott Derrickson has previously addressed why he has little interest in looking back at the killer’s past while speaking with DiscussingFilm.

“I think that when it comes to sociopathology and true psycho killers, part of what makes them interesting is their otherness and the fact that there is no story that could explain the mystery of what it is that they do. And I think the best villains that we’ve seen in genre filmmaking don’t try to reduce them to some backstory that explains why they are the way they are. Why is Heath Ledger’s Joker [in The Dark Knight] the way he is? He tells us three or four stories about how he got those scars – probably none of them are true. Maybe one of them is true? The point is, we’ll never know and that just adds to his mystery.”

After comparing The Grabber to the likes of the Joker, Derrickson continued to explain why he feels that revealing the backstory of a villain is detrimental to the terror the villain creates.

“If Hannibal Lecter had a story that said, ‘This is why he became a cannibal and started eating people.’ Suddenly, Hannibal Lecter wouldn’t be that interesting. So when people say they want more, good, I want them to want more. You know, that’s the mystery of this kind of sadistic killer.”

The Black Phone 2 is scheduled to be released on June 27, 2025.

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