What We Know About Smile 2, And Can We Smile In Joy?
Say what you will, “Smile” was a pretty good horror movie. Of course, the film could have been better and more original than it actually was. Nevertheless, it offered excellent acting by most of the cast (especially Sosie Bacon, the daughter of Kevin, in the leading role), combined with a tense atmosphere and some creepy and well-made scenes. Even if its ending was weak, the massive success of “Smile” — the highest-grossing horror film of 2022, grossing more than $217 million — made Paramout’s decision about whether there be a Smile 2 movie pretty simple.
We received the happy news in April 2024, more than half a year after “Smile” began its cinematic journey. Later, we got more details about the cast, the plot, and the “Smile 2” release date. In the following article, we will sort out the mess for you, and it will seem to you that there is, perhaps, something to smile about.
Smile 2 Leading Role: Bacon OUT, Scott IN
One of the main questions accompanying “Smile 2” concerns the leading role. Without spoilers, the first “Smile” ended in a way that indicates that lead actress Sosie Bacon won’t be able to star in the sequel (although we’ve already learned that in horror franchises, anything is possible). The one who will return is Kyle Garner, who plays Joe, a police detective who was previously the partner of the heroine, Rose (Bacon), and was involved in investigating the curse.
The most significant news came regarding the main character, with the one chosen ultimately being the talented Naomi Scott. Scott, who started her career in the failed sci-fi series “Terra Nova” and the Disney TV movie “Lemonade Mouth,” has recently starred in some significant films. She played Kimberly, the Pink Ranger, in the remake of Power Rangers (2017), which I saw for god knows why. Her most memorable role is as Princess Jasmine in “Aladdin” (2019), which may have led her to turn to the world of horror because it’s not easy to survive a set with Will Smith. Scott was also about the only good thing in another remake, this time for “Charlie’s Angels” (2019), and she might have been happy to erase from her CV.
In recent years, Scott has somewhat disappeared from the radar. Yes, she did star in one of the leading roles in Netflix’s “Anatomy of a Scandal,” but we haven’t seen her appear in a movie in about five years, which is quite unusual for a young actress. Despite this, her casting is probably not surprising because the plot of “Smile 2” is about a pop star.
Scott is an excellent singer who has released several albums and played on soundtracks for several significant projects. You may remember the hit “Speechless” from the soundtrack of Aladdin, which has reached 40 million views on YouTube in the five years since then.
Smile 2 Cast Updates
In the months since then, we’ve gotten a few more updates on the cast. Similar to the first film, the writing and directing work is in the skilled hands of Parker Finn (who also created “Laure Hasn’t Slept,” the short film on which the first “Smile” is based). The cast will also include Rosemary DeWitt, who received a lot of praise (and several awards) for “Rachel Getting Married,” played Ryan Gosling’s sister in “La La Land,” and – and this is already a little more interesting to us, as horror fans – played the mother of the family in the rather unnecessary renewal of “Poltergeist” from 2015.
Lucas Gage (“You,” “Euphoria,” “The White Lotus”) and Peter Jacobson (Der Taub from “House,” and also Rabbi Jacob Kesner in “Fear the Walking Dead”) are other interesting names on “Smile 2” cast.
“Smile 2” filming took place mainly in Hudson Valley, between January and March 2024. Other main locations included Poughkeepsie, Albany, Newburgh, and New York City.
Smile 2 Plot: What Is Smile 2 About?
If you’ve seen the first movie, you can probably assume that in “Smile 2,” we’ll mostly see people smiling creepy before they do something terrible to themselves or others. “Smile 2” plot follows a pop star named Skye Riley (Scott, in a short blonde Lady Gaga/Miley Cyrus/Whatabar haircut, which is fashionable among pop stars), who experiences a series of inexplicable events after she meets a figure from her past.
Riley is right in the middle of a world tour, and she’ll probably be wondering if what she’s experiencing – events that probably involve people giving a creepy smile before doing something terrible to themselves or others – is related to the stress she’s under or something else. Payne himself claimed that we would get a slightly different movie from the first one and would also explain a little more about the origin of that evil entity. “There are still many interesting things to explore in the world of Smile,” he said. “I’d like to make sure there’s a new, exciting, fresh way to it that the audience isn’t expecting. I also want to find some new ways to scare and disturb the audience.”
Smile 2 Trailer: Can You Skip It?
A few weeks ago, the first teaser trailer was released, which introduced Skye’s character and some of the events she will encounter, such as a character who sees something strange behind the heroine, smiles a scary smile, and then hurts herself. In a framed essay, the trailer didn’t impress me much, but we can say the same about the first movie’s trailer, which ruined some great scenes (if you’ve seen the film and the trailer, you know which scenes it is). So feel free to skip it!
However, here is the “Smile 2” trailer, which is presented here as important information for the public, but feel free to skip it as well:
As part of the film’s promotional campaign, Fremont decided to release a single by Scott’s character in the movie, Skye Riley, called “Blood on White Satin” (no music video, at this point) – yes, the song that plays in the background of the trailer. To my not-very-skilled ears, but music lovers in general, this is a decent pop song, which shows Scott’s quite impressive vocal abilities, combined with a production that reminds some of the hot stars of the scene.
It probably won’t be a viral hit like that song from “Aladdin.”: The evidence is its number of views, which is several tens of thousands, but it is still an exciting attempt to bring life to the character. And by the way, they even opened a website and an Instagram profile for Skye Riley.
When is Smile 2 coming out?
“Smile 2” release date in the United States is October 18, 2024: right before Halloween, a month generally considered very successful among horror fans.
