Meet The Blacks 2 - What We Know So Far
"Meet the Blacks" (2016) pulled in an incredible amount of money at the box office ($9.1 million against a $900,000 budget, according to Box Office Mojo), and even though it wasn't much of a hit with critics (according to Rotten Tomatoes, it comes in at a 17% critics rating), a sequel was greenlit on the strength of its audience response. The movie went on to become one of the top 10 most-watched movies on Hulu this past winter.
The original "Meet the Blacks" was a horror comedy film in which Carl Black (Mike Epps) tries to settle his family in suburbia after leaving behind a life of hustling. He uproots them to Beverly Hills, using money stolen from a Chicago drug kingpin, Key Flo (Charlie Murphy). Unfortunately, Beverly Hills is in the middle of its very own purge. With crime legal for twelve hours, and a cache of ill-begotten money on his person, how will Carl protect his family and survive the night?
Five years later, a sequel — "The House Next Door: Meet the Blacks 2" — has been filmed, and is now primed for release. Who's in the cast? What's the plot? And when will you get to watch it? Here's everything we know so far.
When is Meet the Blacks 2 being released?
According to Collider and the movie's official trailer, "The House Next Door: Meet the Blacks 2" will be released on June 11, 2021. That means you'll be able to watch the full film this summer.
Also per Collider, "The House Next Door" will be available only in theaters. The movie will be available on demand via cable and streaming services and Blu-ray release at a later point in the season. It's a rare thing in 2021: a traditional release model.
"The House Next Door" was filmed sometime in late 2020, with post-production work on the movie going into the early spring, via a series of tweets on the movie's official Twitter. There seem to have been no production delays as a result of the pandemic, which might have pushed back its release date. There will be a surprising number of new characters introduced in the movie's second volume, however.
Who's in the cast of Meet the Blacks 2?
According to the cast list on the film's official website, Mike Epps and Zulay Henao will return as Carl and Lorena Black, respectively. Carl's children will also be back — Bresha Webb reprises her role as Allie Black, and Alex Henderson returns as Carls Jr. Lil Duval is also in the film as Cronut, Carl's cousin. King Bach returns as Freezee, Tyrin Turner is back as Rico, and Michael Blackson will once again play Mr. Wooky.
Two previous cast members will play fresh roles: Gary Owen returns as a new character, Clive, and Snoop Dogg, who played Todd in the first movie, returns playing himself. New to the cast is Katt Williams, who portrays the Black's mysterious new neighbor, Dr. Mamuwawalde. Also joining is Danny Trejo, who will play Hugo, and Rick Ross enters the mix as Mr. Saturday Night. It's definitely a star-packed line-up, which will delight fans of the previous film.
What is Meet the Blacks 2 about?
While "Meet the Blacks" was something of a direct parody of the "Purge" series of horror movies, the sequel seems to be taking a different approach. While there's a hint that the "Sinister" film series might come in for a rib-poke here, the next movie seems to be a straight-up comedic vampire film, which is fascinating new territory for the franchise.
According to the official website for the flick, it will feature the Black family returning to their roots in Chicago after surviving their Beverly Hills purge night. Unfortunately, Carl immediately learns that there's something strange afoot in the old neighborhood. His new neighbor never seems to be awake during the day, and his attitude and behavior are suspicious enough to make the Blacks wonder if Dr. Mamuwawalde (Williams) is secretly a vampire.
With the franchise revisiting its no-holds-barred comedic approach to horror satire, this sounds like something you can really sink your teeth into come June.