Barbarian's Director Teases His Wild Idea For A Possible Sequel
The following story contains spoilers for "Barbarian."
"Barbarian" has been one of the surprise horror hits of the year, with critics saying overwhelmingly positive things about Zach Cregger's cinematic roller coaster. The movie currently sits with a 93% Certified Fresh Tomatometer rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 73% audience score — making it even more beloved by reviewers than Jordan Peele's "Nope" and Scott Derrickson's "The Black Phone." In fact, Rotten Tomatoes currently lists "Barbarian" as one of just six horror movies in the past year with ratings above 92%. The only films in the genre with higher scores are Ti West's "X," the 2021 Shudder flick "Hellbender," and Eskil Vogt's Norwegian supernatural thriller "The Innocents."
As with any successful horror project, calls for a "Barbarian" sequel have likely grown louder and louder with each glowing review, and it also helps that the film is doing decent at the box office as well, with reports listing it as the winner of its September 9 opening weekend with a "better-than-expected" $10 million debut, per Variety. That number has since ballooned to $13.8 million as of this publication (via Box Office Mojo). "The weekend figure is somewhat above average and reviews are sensational," said "Barbarian" movie consultant David A. Gross in a statement (via Variety). "These are relatively inexpensive and profitable movies that are enjoyed best on a big screen," he explained.
If "Barbarian" were to get a sequel someday, Cregger says he has some pretty wild ideas for what would go down in the follow-up, including one that is so disturbing and out there, he wouldn't ever be able to direct it himself.
Barbarian 2 could focus on Frank the serial killer or The Mother reintegrating into society
According to director Zach Cregger, if a "Barbarian" sequel were to be developed and made someday, the craziest but most logical option for filmmakers would be to focus on Frank the serial killer (Richard Brake), aka the man behind the madness. But Cregger doesn't ever see himself being able to make that sort of movie in this day and age. However, he does have an even kookier idea for a "Barbarian" follow-up.
"There's a sequel I joke about that I would love to watch, which would be The Mother surviving her gunshot and having to integrate into society," Cregger told The Hollywood Reporter. "She could attend community college and get her learner's permit and get a Tinder profile. That would be fun. I'd watch that movie. I don't know if I'd make it, but I'd love to see it." As for the Frank idea, Cregger understandably feels too icky about it.
"I'm personally not interested in making a movie about a man who abducts women," he told THR. "I'm more than happy to have that be the setting for another story like 'Barbarian' is, but I don't want to watch that guy for an hour and a half. I could be thinking about it all wrong. Maybe I'll change my tune, but at the moment, no."
The ending of "Barbarian" saw the movie's main baddie, The Mother (Matthew Patrick Davis), being seemingly shot dead by Tess Marshall (Georgina Campbell) following several run-ins with her and AJ Gilbride (Justin Long). The film's other big star, Bill Skarsgård, was taken out by The Mother in the very first act after being hinted to be a closeted psycho. While it may seem like a sequel isn't currently on the table creatively, Cregger insists that there's a ton of subject matter to play with, especially when looking at other genres. "I think that a sequel to 'Barbarian' would have to be a straight-up comedy," he told One Take News.