‘Black Phone 2’ Trailer Reveals Chilling Return of Ethan Hawke’s The Grabber

Universal and Blumhouse have dropped the first trailer for Black Phone 2 at CCXP Mexico, revealing the chilling return of the Grabber, the masked villain who haunted the 2022 hit. The original film, based on Joe Hill’s short story, surprised audiences by grossing $161 million worldwide on an $18 million budget. Now, the sequel promises to dial up the horror and take things to a darker, more intense place.

The story picks up after the Grabber’s apparent death in the first movie—spoiler alert—but the trailer makes it clear: “Dead is just a word.” This is the haunting message Ethan Hawke’s Grabber delivers in a tense phone call to Mason Thames’s character, signaling that the terror isn’t over.

Director and co-writer Scott Derrickson, speaking to The Hollywood Reporter ahead of the trailer drop, kept many plot details under wraps but explained a key shift in tone. “The first movie was a ghost movie but all the ghosts were victims, which is typical, a ghost story,” he said. “But in this one, you’ve got a ghost that is a villain.”

Derrickson also shared that his inspiration for the sequel draws on different personal experiences than the first. While the original was rooted in his memories of childhood violence and bullying in Denver, the new film takes cues from his high school years spent at winter camps in the Rocky Mountains. “A middle school coming-of-age horror movie is a different animal than a high school coming-of-age horror film,” Derrickson noted. “There’s a ratcheting up of intensity because of that.”

The idea for a sequel wasn’t initially planned. Derrickson said Joe Hill reached out with new story ideas shortly after the first film’s release. The timing, with the characters now entering high school, felt right. “I thought if I go make another movie first and don’t make a sequel now like you’re supposed to, then by the time I finish, these kids are all going to be in high school,” he explained.

Expect Black Phone 2 to be a harder-hitting horror experience. Derrickson confirmed, “It is certainly more violent, scarier, more graphic. And part of that is because of the age of the kids.”

Black Phone 2 will hit theaters on October 17, starring Ethan Hawke returning as the Grabber alongside Mason Thames and Madeleine McGraw. The sequel is directed by Derrickson, who co-wrote the script with C. Robert Cargill. Joe Hill returns as executive producer.

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