The Watchers 2 Prospects Get Uncertain Response From Director Ishana Night Shyamalan

With her directorial debut now in theaters, Ishana Night Shyamalan shares her thoughts on The Watchers 2. Based on A.M. Shine’s novel of the same name, the horror-thriller tells the story of Mina, a 28-year-old American artist who finds herself trapped in an expansive forest in western Ireland and surrounded by the titular mysterious creatures. Dakota Fanning leads the ensemble Watchers cast that also includes Georgina Campbell, Oliver Finnegan, John Lynch, and Olwen Fouéré.

Now, during a recent interview with ComicBook.com, Shyamalan was asked if a sequel to The Watchers was in development. Though the young director acknowledged that she would like to keep exploring the horror and fantasy genres, she stated that she’s currently unsure about a sequel for The Watchers for now. Read her full comments below:

I don’t know. I can’t speak to that. Yeah, I can’t speak to that just yet. [It] wasn’t really an intentional choice that I go into horror. It’s just sort of the material that I think I’m interested in. I feel for whatever reason, I just connect to darker, scarier things I think I have since I’ve been young. So yeah, it’s more so the palette that I enjoy playing in, but I really enjoy this kind of expanding the genre and touching other things. So, for example, this sort of fantasy horror intersection I think is really compelling and cool to me, and would love to go even deeper into that.

What Are The Chances Of The Watchers Getting A Sequel?

It’s fairly early days for The Watchers and announcing a sequel to the supernatural horror film might be a little too early. However, judging purely based on the initial reactions to the movie, a sequel looks pretty unlikely at the moment. There’s currently no official word on the movie’s performance at the box office, but reviews of The Watcher have been generally negative thus far from critics, albeit audiences have been a little more mixed on the project.

According to the review aggregator website, Rotten Tomatoes, The Watchers holds an uninspiring approval rating of 30%. While there are a number of gripes that critics have with Shyamalan’s directorial debut, like the movie’s plot and its overall lack of conviction, the biggest issue that many critics seem to have with the movie is its convoluted ending. The Watchers’ ending, which presents a huge plot twist, seems to be its biggest undoing, as many critics argue that it completely derails the entire film.

As mentioned previously, it’s still a little too early to determine if The Watchers could return for a second part, especially because its box office numbers are yet to come in. There have been numerous instances in the past where movies have gotten poor reviews but performed well commercially and have gotten greenlit for a sequel. Whether that will be the case for The Watchers remains to be seen.

Source: ComicBook.com

The Watchers

Based on A.M. Shine’s novel, The Watchers follows Mina (Dakota Fanning), a twenty-eight-year-old artist stranded in the middle of a forest in Ireland. Her momentary relief when she finds shelter is shattered when she discovers other strangers in the same predicament – but they’re stalked each night by unseen creatures.

Director

Ishana Shyamalan

Release Date

June 7, 2024

Studio(s)

New Line Cinema

Distributor(s)

Warner Bros. Pictures

Writers

A.M. Shine , Ishana Shyamalan

Cast

Dakota Fanning , Georgina Campbell , Olwen Fouéré , Siobhan Hewlett

Runtime

102 minutes

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