The horror sequel arrives on October 18th.
The Smile franchise is about to put another smile on your face. On Tuesday, Paramount Pictures released the first trailer for Smile 2, the mysterious sequel to the 2022 horror hit. Smile 2, which is set to be released in theaters this fall, has already carried the torch of the first film’s unconventional marketing campaign, which included placing actors with its creepy wide grin on the broadcasts of every major Major League Baseball game. This time around, a marketing campaign began to surface promoting Skye Riley, a musician with an official street team and a billboard on Sunset Boulevard, all of which promoted a single titled “Blood on White Satin.”
Some had quickly clocked the campaign as stealth promotion for Smile 2, especially since the partial shots of Riley in the existing posts seem to look like Naomi Scott, who is confirmed to be starring in the film. The marketing teased that “Blood on White Satin” would be released on June 18th, which we now know is the same date as Smile’s trailer.
What Is Smile 2 About?
Plot details surrounding Smile 2 are currently unknown at this time. In the original Smile, after witnessing a bizarre, traumatic incident involving a patient, Dr. Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon) starts experiencing frightening occurrences that she can’t explain. Rose must confront her troubling past in order to survive and escape her horrifying new reality. In the film’s finale, Rose appeared to have conquered the presence, only for audiences to witness her fatal sacrifice in front of Joel, implying that he would be the next victim of the supernatural curse.
New cast members for Smile 2 will include Scott, Lukas Gage, Rosemarie DeWitt, Dylan Gelula, Raul Castillo, and Miles Gutierrez-Riley.
Who Is Returning for Smile 2?
At least one character from the first Smile is confirmed to return in Smile 2, with Kyle Gallner’s Joel lined up to have a significant role. Meanwhile, Kal Penn, who portrayed Dr. Desai in the first film, has indicated that he will not be reprising his role.
“As far as I know, I’m not in the sequel. But I would obviously say ‘yes’ if they called,” Penn explained in an interview with Screen Rant earlier this year. “That was a blast, that movie. I think originally it was called ‘There’s Something Wrong With Rose’ and it was this lower budget horror. movie. I thought the script was awesome, and I’m from New Jersey, we shot mostly in New Jersey, so it seemed very cool. And I like horror. And then, the way it kind of blew up, I was so excited and so happy for, obviously, the cast, and Sosie [Bacon], and the director, but just the idea that horror fans were like, ‘All right, that’s the movie,’ that we didn’t even think was gonna go theatrical, and then it did. So, I’m excited for the second one, as a fan.'”
Smile 2 is currently scheduled to be released on October 18th.
