Writer and director James DeMonaco probably didn’t need very much convincing from the studios and productions companies to sit down and fire out the screenplay for a third installment of his hit action horror series, The Purge. Shot on a budget of $3 million, the original film raked in $89 million at the box office in 2013 to become the wet dream of every studio executive on the planet. Even with a brand new cast, Universal, Blumhouse and Platinum Dunes pumped the budget for The Purge: Anarchy up to $9 million with a one year turnaround. The result? A ridiculous opening weekend en route to $108 million at the box office.
It shouldn’t surprise anyone that The Purge 3 is happening, and DeMonaco will write it and possibly return to direct.
“I never imagined that The Purge would become the phenomenon it has become,” DeMonaco told Deadline, “and I am thrilled to continue my collaboration with Blumhouse, Sebastien Lemercier, Platinum Dunes and the great team at Universal in building The Purge into a worldwide franchise.” (Via Deadline)
Here’s an exclusive look at DeMonaco once he got off the phone with his agent:
Two thoughts on another Purge film, as this has been a surprisingly entertaining franchise thus far: 1) A dollar says that this one is about how the annual Purge affects the White House and the President. If there’s a Channing Tatum cameo, I’d spontaneously combust, leaving behind only a cloud of elated dust. 2) The film should have a short scene in which idiots who post flyers about an upcoming Purge event are hit in the nuts with beanbags, because that should already happen to anyone who does that in real life.