Credit: Final Destination 5
Shockingly, it’s been over ten years since the last Final Destination film.
Following the huge success of The Final Destination – which was originally penciled as the end of the entire saga – studios opted to make another feature that was critically praised and more importantly, a financial success. Since Final Destination 5, there’s been speculation over another film in the long-running series; however, it was just recently confirmed that New Line hired co-directors Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein. The duo has done notable work with their indie film Freaks being the most high profile. The duo will be directing based on the script of Ready or Not – which was a tremendous horror film – screenwriters Guy Busick and Lori Evans Taylor
Freaks stars Emile Hirsch, who plays the father of Chloe (Lexy Kolker), an abnormal child who has been shielded from the dangers of the real world. However, a mysterious stranger offers to show her what’s really happening, and the young girl soon learns the truth and the dangers that come with it. The feature was heavily praised by critics and fans, as it currently sits at 88% on Rotten Tomatoes. There’s no word on what other directors were in contention for Final Destination 6; however, the way that Lipovsky and Stein got the job has been revealed. Apparently, the co-directors created their own elaborate death scene.
Credit: Final Destination 5
According to The Hollywood Reporter, their love and passion stood out among 200 applicants as showcased during their pitch meeting with New Line executives and producers. The zoom call seemingly went off the rails with a fireplace behind the directors burning too strongly, with the mantle catching the fire above. Naturally, the director went into action by grabbing fire extinguishers and putting out the fire. However, once the directors sat back down, a ceiling fan broke and decapitated one of them. They used a combination of pre-recorded material and visual effects to pull off the trick and win over the execs.
The bold move now sees the project move forward in the pre-production phase, though there’s no word on when filming will commence. Believe it or not, the premise of Final Destination actually started out as an idea for an X-Files episode. The studio opted to turn the episode into a film and the final product came out in 2000 starring Devon Sawa, Ali Larter, and Tony Todd. The premise of a group of survivors who must deal with the wrath of death after escaping his plans was a hit amongst moviegoers as Final Destination made a strong $112.0 million worldwide.
Credit: Final Destination 5
The franchise continued with four more films that scored big at the box office. In total, the series has made over $650 million worldwide. Based on what’s been revealed so far, the franchise isn’t going to revert back to the “strangers escape death and die one-by-one” formula as the creators of the horror series wanted to take a fresh approach to the formula, “I will say that it’s not just going to be another kind of ‘we set up a group of people, they cheat death, and then just death gets them. ‘And there’s one wrinkle that we kind of added to every movie to kind of like change it up a little bit: this one is… a true Final Destination movie, but it doesn’t follow that kind of formula that we’ve kind of established… I think I can say that much.” Jeffrey Reddick said in an interview with Dread Central (transcribed by Comicbook).
This is exciting news. One of the reasons Final Destination 5 was highly praised is due to the fact that it added several new layers to the well-worn formula. If the creators are able to find a way to add more dimension while still delivering the gory goods then audiences will be in for a welcome treat.
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