Chapter 1 A Prequel, Remake Or Reboot? It’s Complicated

Warning: Minor spoilers for The Strangers: Chapter 1!

The Strangers: Chapter 1 officially expanded The Strangers movie franchise, but whether it’s a remake of the original film or a reboot is complicated. The original two Strangers films focus on three masked murderers who go after innocent people who happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Renny Harlin’s new The Strangers trilogy will attempt to keep with the same concept as the original, with Chapter 1 following a young couple forced to stay at a remote AirBnB after their car breaks down in Oregon, resulting in a terrifying encounter with Dollface, the Man in the Mask, and the Pin-Up Girl.

The Strangers and Prey at Night were big box office successes when they premiered in 2008 and 2018, making $82 million and $31 million at the box office (via Box Office Mojo) despite mixed reviews from critics. The Strangers’ new trilogy will look to make a similar splash at the box office with a risky release format that will result in The Strangers: Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 arriving just months apart. While The Strangers: Chapter 1‘s cast and characters imply a completely different story, the connection to the past movies has been confusing.

Is The Strangers: Chapter 1 A Prequel?

The Strangers Trailer Caused Prequel Confusion

Considering The Strangers: Chapter 1‘s trailer highlighted the tagline of “Witness how the strangers became the strangers,” there was a belief that Harlin’s new installments in The Strangers movie franchise would be prequels. With the implication that Chapter 1 would explain the background of The Strangers‘ three killers, believing the movie serves as a prequel is understandable. However, the tagline is a bit misleading since The Strangers: Chapter 1 is in no way a prequel since it’s set in the modern day. Other than the killers and the overall concept, there are no direct connections made to the past movies.

The Strangers’ New Trilogy Isn’t A Direct Remake Or Reboot

In an interview (via Comicbook.com), director Renny Harlin revealed that the new Strangers trilogy is not considered a direct remake or reboot of the original movies. In the same interview, he promised that the original movies would be referenced with Easter eggs throughout The Strangers trilogy. With Harlin’s installments serving as a standalone film series instead of a reboot of the original, Harlin also revealed that he has ensured that the old The Stranger films are honored in every way. Interestingly, The Strangers: Chapter 1 is almost a beat-by-beat copy of the 2008 movie, which is where the remake label gets more confusing.

Though not a direct remake, The Strangers: Chapter 1 should be viewed as a relaunch of the franchise. It follows a similar storyline to the 2008 release and even teases the true stories that inspired The Strangers original movie. Even as the upcoming sequels will go in new and fresh directions compared to past installments, eventually cementing this era of the franchise as a standalone story, for now, it’s easy to see why Chapter 1 is incorrectly being considered a direct remake and a reboot.

Does The Strangers: Chapter 1 Take Place In The Same Universe As Past Movies?

Future Installments Will Have To Clarify The Strangers’ Movie Universe

The Strangers: Chapter 1 has been confirmed to be set within the same universe as the previous movies, bringing back the same three masked killers from the original film. However, the exact connection gets murky when remembering the fate of the masked killers in Prey at Night. Based on The Strangers: Chapter 1‘s ending, a lot more surrounding the killers will be explored in the next two movies. The trilogy will also reveal more about the origin story of the three masked intruders and answer questions from the original TheStrangers movies that remain a mystery. In doing so, Harlin’s next chapters will hopefully clarify how the story exists in the same universe despite its status as a standalone trilogy.

Source: Comicbook.com

The Strangers: Chapter 1

Director

Renny Harlin

Release Date

May 17, 2024

Cast

Madelaine Petsch , Froy Gutierrez , Rachel Shenton , Gabriel Basso , Ema Horvath

Franchise(s)

The Strangers

Distributor(s)

Lionsgate

Sources: ComicBook.com