2026 has been a thrilling year for horror movies already, with Backrooms in particular proving to be an incredibly popular new release, earning more than $360 million worldwide at the box office. But even with that smash hit and myriad other 2026 horror movie releases, some of which are still to be released, 2027 is going to give this year a major run for its money, especially following a shocking update on a very long-awaited sequel to a 2015 cult classic horror film.
Specifically, 11 years after David Robert Mitchell’s It Follows—which maintains an impressive 95% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes today—the sequel movie They Follow is not only truly underway (something that many It Follows fans had been doubting) but also has just announced some exciting new names among the movie’s cast, including multiple familiar faces from both the Marvel and DC franchises. And, in addition to celebratory reactions in response to this news, many It Follows lovers are simply surprised that, after all this time, the sequel movie is really happening.
As reported by Deadline, multiple casting announcements for They Follow have been confirmed, including: Jackie Earle Haley, Justine Lupe, Anna Mirodin, Jayne Taini, Michael Gandolfini, Tom Pecinka, Melora Walters, Ben Krieger, Natalie Shinnick, and Jan Hoag. While these stars are recognizable from a host of movies and shows, two names that particularly stand out are Jackie Earle Haley and Michael Gandolfini, as both have played roles in DC and Marvel, respectively. Haley was Rorschach in the 2009 movie Watchman, while Gandolfini just played Daniel Blake in Daredevil: Born Again.
These new cast members will be joined by It Follows returning star Maika Monroe as well as Naomi Ackie, who will reportedly also have a starring role in the sequel. The specific release date of They Follow is not yet known, nor are precise story details, although Deadline did confirm that the movie will be set a decade after the events of It Follows. That movie’s unsettling plot saw Monroe’s character, Jay Height, stalked by a supernatural entity after a sexual encounter. Presumably, the plot will at least thematically connect to that prior story, but that remains to be seen.
In response to this casting announcement, which in turn confirmed more progress on the sequel than many viewers were expecting, fans have taken to the internet to express both excitement and incredulity that this movie is actually in the works. No doubt fueled by the more than decade-long wait for They Follow, one X post states, “‘THEY FOLLOW’ is finally filming!!” The comments on this post are responding in kind, with one commenter writing, “This is so exciting,” and another posting a gif of Michael Scott on The Office saying, “Oh, my God! Okay, it’s happening.”
Another X post echoes these sentiments, stating, “THEY FOLLOW FINALLY IN PRODUCTION THIS IS A DREAM COME TRUE.” Clearly, there’s plenty of anticipation already built up for this movie, and that’s likely to only grow as more details (which remain sparse for now) are revealed.
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