Happy Death Day director Christopher Landon reveals 'weird' Universal talks about sequel

'Happy Death Day' director Christopher Landon has played down the idea of a third film.

The 50-year-old filmmaker - who was at the helm of the original 2017 black comedy slasher and its 2019 sequel 'Happy Death Day 2U' - explained that despite being "ready to go and start writing", he has had "weird" talks with Universal and Blumhouse.

He told SFX: "I didn’t write the script because I never want to count my chickens and get ahead of myself. But I was ready to go and start writing this, but then it was sort of like, it was weird.

“We had a lot of fits and spurts in terms of 'maybe we’ll do it'. At one point they talked about it becoming a three-part event thing for [streaming service] Peacock, which was kind of weird.

"I was like, ‘Alriiiiiight! Whatever it takes.’ But then it went away and that was the last we ever heard of it – which was years ago."

Landon admitted he still doesn't understand why a third instalment hasn't been greenlit after the success of the first two 'Happy Death Day' films.

The first film pulled in $125.5 million from a budget of just $5 million, while 'Happy Death Day 2U' earned $64.6 million with a $9 million budget.

Landon added: "It’s been an interesting journey because both movies were financially very successful, so I think it’s left us and a lot of fans scratching their heads as to why we weren’t allowed to make a third.

"But I don’t control the purse strings, I don’t call those shots.

"That’s entirely up to Blumhouse and Universal, if they have an appetite or interest in it.”

In January 2023, Landon conceded that the chance of his proposed third film seeing the light of day were "dimming".

He told SlashFilm at the time: "The beauty of it is that my idea, the whole idea for the third movie, it is not dependent on any sort of specific window or timeframe.

"So I could make it any time, but I mean, as the years draw past, I feel like our chances are dimming."

Landon admitted there has been "tiny movement" over the past few years, but he has struggled to "motivate" the studio to seriously consider making his project a trilogy.

He explained: "There was a tiny moment where I really felt like I had Universal's attention, but they forgot about me.

"I think it's a really tough one for them, and I'm being really blunt and honest in that the first movie was very successful. It made a lot of money. It was well-received.

"And the sequel was not. The sequel is loved by people who have seen it, but it did not make a lot of money, and it was not a success for them.

"So it's very hard to motivate them to make a third movie when the last one just didn't perform. Those are the hard economics of the business."