Summary
- Philippou Brothers team up with actress Sally Hawkins for new horror film “
Bring Her Back
” with A24. - Critics and moviegoers alike loved the brothers’ debut horror film “
Talk to Me
,” scoring big at the box office. - A sequel to “
Talk to Me
” titled “
Talk 2 Me
” is in development, with the brothers returning as co-directors.
The brother duo of Danny and Michael Philippou are gearing up for their next horror film with A24 following the success of their debut feature, Talk to Me, with the independent studio. While a Talk To Me sequel is in the works, the pair will team up once again on a new original horror film and they’re bringing actress Sally Hawkins along with them.
Per Deadline, Hawkins will headline Bring Her Back, the latest horror effort from the Philippou Brothers. Plot details are very scarce at the moment, but production is expected to start this summer, and it will be produced by Samantha Jennings and Kristina Ceyton from Causeway Films. The pair previously worked with the brothers on Talk to Me and also produced The Babadook and The Nightingale.
Danny and Michael Philippou made their feature directorial debuts with Talk to Me, an Australian supernatural horror film. Written by Danny Philippou and Bill Hinzman, and based on a concept by Daley Pearson, the movie follows a group of teenagers who discover they can contact spirits using a mysterious severed and embalmed hand. A24 acquired the rights to distribute the film in the United States, and it was met with glowing reviews, registering a 95% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Talk to Me Scored with Critics & Moviegoers
Talk to Me
- Release Date
- July 28, 2023
- Director
- Danny Philippou , Michael Philippou
- Cast
- Sophie Wilde , Joe Bird , Alexandra Jensen , Otis Dhanji , Miranda Otto
Talk to Me also proved to be a big hit for A24, becoming their highest-grossing horror release at the domestic box office with a gross of $48.3 million. Budgeted at just $4.5 million, the film ultimately brought in $92.1 million globally. Following the financial success of the film, the brothers revealed that they had already completed principal photography on a prequel that dug into Duckett’s (Sunny Johnson) backstory. Production was finished consecutively with the feature film, using storytelling through mobile phones and social media to dig into how the audience meets the character before Talk to Me’s opening scene. The intention is to release the footage at a future date.
Talk to Me: 10 Things We Want to See in the Sequel
We’re still trying to recover from the Australian horror blockbuster Talk to Me. Meanwhile, let’s discuss what we want to see in the sequel.
Soon after the film opened in theaters, it was also announced that a sequel to Talk to Me is also in development, with sequences already written for the follow-up, according to the directing duo. A24 later confirmed the news with the official reveal of the title, Talk 2 Me. Danny and Michael Phillippou will be back as co-directors, and they will be working from a script written by Danny and Bill Hinzman.
As for Sally Hawkins, the British actress has been nominated for two Academy Awards across her career. She scored her first nomination for 2013’s Blue Jasmine in the Supporting Actress category and was nominated again for Best Actress for her role in The Shape of Water. She has also appeared in other lead roles that include Paddington, Paddington 2, 2014’s Godzilla, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, and Wonka.
