For too long, Dimension Films was too happy to produce less-than-stellar Hellraiser sequels for the sake of retaining the rights to the franchise. The suffering was indeed legendary. David Bruckner’s 2022 reboot for Hulu, meanwhile, is an interesting reimagining of Clive Barker’s original lore that, at the very least, deserves credit for being an earnest and ambitious attempt to make the Cenobites compelling again. Furthermore, he wants to make Hellraiser 2.
Hellraiser sets up a world of interesting possibilities, and Bruckner wants to return to the demonic universe. However, in a recent interview with ComicBook.com, the director explained that the sequel hasn’t been greenlit yet.
“We’ve been wanting to hear from the audience and I don’t know yet, but I certainly hope there’s a future there, so we will see,” he said.
What’s more, the director of “The Night House” previously revealed that he and his team are confident about returning to this world. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Bruckner explained that making Hellraiser was a learning experience that will set them up well for future instalments.
“Hellraiser is a unique challenge, I think, for a group of filmmakers because, you know, it could be a guy in a mask, but it’s not, it’s inter-dimensional demons that shoot chains at you from an endless labyrinth. It’s complicated and not just conceptually but also logistically. I feel like I speak for our whole team, the SFX, the VFX, the production design, we learned a lot on this. It is tempting to think we’d have an amazing grip on it going forward, should there be an energy and an appetite for it.”
Of course, Bruckner has been keeping busy since Hellraiser. Most recently, he directed the “Total Copy” segment in V/H/S/85, which is currently available to view on Shudder. That said, whatever his next project will be remains to be seen. Hopefully, Hellraiser 2 isn’t too far away.
