The Le Domas family thought they’d buried their bloody secret six years ago, but in the twisted world of Ready or Not, curses don’t die easy—they smolder. Searchlight Pictures’ long-awaited sequel, Ready or Not: Here I Come, blasts back into theaters on April 10, 2026, promising to crank the original’s pitch-black comedy and gore-soaked satire to inferno levels. Starring a returning Samara Weaving as the indomitable bride Grace, alongside a fresh-faced Kathryn Newton as her newly introduced sister, the film dives headfirst into the mythology of the Le Domas clan’s ancient game-night ritual, where survival means outlasting—or outslaughtering—your in-laws.

The 2019 original was a sleeper smash, grossing $28 million worldwide on a $6 million budget and earning an 89% Rotten Tomatoes score for its razor-sharp blend of Home Alone booby traps and The Most Dangerous Game savagery. Grace, the wide-eyed outsider marrying into obscene wealth, uncovers the family’s Satanic pact: Every heir must play hide-and-seek at midnight on their wedding night, or face demonic dawn. She wins—barely—triggering a literal explosive finale that leaves the mansion (and most relatives) in ruins. Fans clamored for more, with Weaving’s feral performance cementing her as a scream queen. “It was always designed with sequel potential,” co-writer Guy Busick told Deadline in 2020, hinting at the curse’s “backdraft”—a delayed combustion for survivors and sinners alike.

Now, directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett (Scream 2022-2023) hand the reins to Adam Robitel (Escape Room 1 & 2), whose trap-heavy resume fits like a bloodstained glove. Filming wrapped in June 2025 after a spring start in Vancouver, doubling for the opulent Le Domas estate. At 1 hour 50 minutes, it’s lean and lethal, with producers Busick and R. Christopher Murphy expanding the lore: The game isn’t over—it’s evolving. Grace, now entangled in the family’s remnants, grapples with the curse’s lingering embers, pulling in a sister she never knew she had. “It’s immediate aftermath,” Elijah Wood, playing a shady lawyer, teased to Bloody Disgusting. “We deepen the mythology—why this family? What’s the real cost of winning?”

Central to the chaos: The sisterhood of Grace and Faith. Newton, 28 and fresh off Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, steps in as Faith MacCaulley, Grace’s estranged sibling thrust into the fray. X buzz exploded with the April 2025 casting reveal, fans dubbing it “Sam and Tara 2.0” after Scream‘s Woods siblings—protective, prickly, and primed for peril. “They’re two sides of the same cursed coin,” a production insider leaked to Variety, suggesting Faith’s arrival uncovers buried family ties predating the Le Domas merger. Weaving, 33 and a genre staple post-The Babysitter series, echoed the excitement on set: “Kathryn brings this raw energy—it’s like having a partner in crime, but with higher body counts.” Their dynamic promises emotional gut-punches amid the slapstick slaughter, as the sisters navigate traps that escalate from crossbows to conflagration.

The ensemble is a horror hall-of-famer’s wet dream. Sarah Michelle Gellar, 48, returns to her slasher roots (I Know What You Did Last Summer) as Ursula Danforth, a cunning Le Domas holdover plotting from the ashes. “Ursula’s the spider in the web—elegant, venomous,” Gellar posted on X, her reveal post racking up 10,000 likes. Shawn Hatosy (Animal Kingdom) plays Titus Danforth, a hot-headed enforcer; Néstor Carbonell (Lost) reprises echoes of his original cameo; and Elijah Wood, 44, slinks in as the family’s fixer, peddling alibis amid the carnage. Then there’s David Cronenberg, 82, the body-horror godfather, as the Danforth patriarch—a meta coup that has X users theorizing twisted cameos, like a nod to Videodrome‘s invasive rituals. “Casting Cronenberg is chef’s kiss,” one fan thread gushed, garnering 2,500 reposts. “From The Fly to family game night? Peak cinema.”

Robitel, whose Escape Room trapped audiences in puzzle-box hell, amps the ingenuity: Expect brighter visuals—neon-lit manors, fireworks-fueled fights—to contrast the original’s shadowy gloom, making every splatter pop. “It’s bloodier, bolder,” he told JoBlo. “Grace isn’t hiding anymore; she’s hunting.” The script, penned by Busick with input from original scribes Chanin Drysdale and Shane McCarthy, weaves in sharper class warfare: Post-explosion lawsuits, media scrutiny, and a cult of curse-chasers circling the survivors. Wood hinted at “surprising alliances,” fueling speculation on redemptions or betrayals—perhaps a Danforth mole flips sides?

The original’s alchemy— Weaving’s scream-laugh charisma, Adam Brody’s tragic groom, and a soundtrack blending classical dread with punk snarls—set a high bar. Ready or Not 2 bets big on escalation: Gore hounds salivate over “improvised infernos,” per set leaks, while comedy fans eye Gellar’s quips and Newton’s wide-eyed terror. Budget climbs to $15-20 million, funding VFX for curse manifestations—think spontaneous combustions that rival The Menu‘s culinary carnage. Searchlight, buoyed by The Menu‘s $80 million haul, eyes a summer-adjacent slot to dominate mid-tier horror, pitting it against Terrifier 4 and Thanksgiving 2 in the 2026 bloodbath.

Fan fervor is feverish. X polls from @UnlHorror_ crowned it a top 2026 pick, edging Evil Dead Burn with 15% of 74,000 votes—praise for “that ending begging for more.” Threads dissect the title: “Here I Come” flips the bride’s taunt, signaling Grace’s offensive. Weaving’s thirst traps from set (muddy gowns, prop axes) have #GraceLives trending, while Newton’s Lisa Frankenstein stans flood comments: “Sister slayers incoming.” Critics like Bloody Disgusting hail the “deeper dive into generational curses,” but skeptics warn of sequel slump—Scream‘s uneven run looms large.

For Weaving, it’s a full-circle gorefest. “Grace’s my ride-or-die,” she joked at a 2025 convention, brandishing a faux backgammon board. Newton, bridging Marvel and macabre, sees parallels: “Faith’s the heart—scared but scrappy, like Grace was.” Gellar, absent from big-screen horror since 2004’s The Grudge, relishes the reins: “Ursula’s unhinged—think Buffy with a trust fund.” Cronenberg’s involvement? “Surreal,” Wood laughed. “He’s dissecting family dynamics like one of his films.”

As post-production hums—rumors swirl of reshoots for a mid-credits stinger teasing part three—the question burns: Can Here I Come match the original’s lightning-in-a-bottle joy? With its stacked cast, sibling synergy, and promise of “brighter and bloodier” bedlam, it feels primed to. In a genre bloated with reboots, this sequel honors its roots while forging a franchise fire. Grace may have said “ready or not,” but audiences? We’re all in. Hide the matches—the game’s back on.