Featurette shows ‘Smile 2’ ‘way more off the rails’ than original

Oct. 3 (UPI) — Paramount Pictures released a featurette for Smile 2 on Thursday.

In the clip, Parker Finn, the film’s writer, director and producer, offers a glimpse of what went into making the new film.

“I knew that if I was going to approach the sequel, I needed to find a character that I could find something thematic to explore there,” he said.

In the Smile franchise, an evil being overtakes its victims and forces them to kill themselves before the eyes of the next target.

#Smile2 is “bolder, nastier, and bloodier.” – Writer / Director / Producer Parker Finn

Get tickets for #Smile2 now – only in theatres October 18. https://t.co/qAkkmtS6h8 pic.twitter.com/hIA2oWszDW— Smile Movie (@SmileMovie) October 3, 2024

“The trick to unlocking it was discovering the character Skye Riley,” Finn said. “Skye is this famous star who is surrounded by people and yet she’s incredibly alone. It’s a frightening situation for anybody to be in.”

Naomi Scott will portray Riley.

“It really does run the gambit of a more internal movie to just being completely unhinged,” Scott says in the featurette.

Finn said that his sophomore film will be “10 times bigger” than the first, with more blood and more nastiness.

In addition to Scott, Rosemarie DeWitt, Lukas Gage, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Peter Jacobson, Ray Nicholson, Dylan Gelula, Raúl Castillo and Kyle Gallner also star.

Smile 2 drops in theaters Oct. 18.