Starring: Madeleine McGraw, Mason Thames, Ethan Hawke
Directed by: Scott Derrickson | Written by: C. Robert Cargill
“Ring, ring — evil never dies.”
The haunting sound of the black phone is ringing once again — and this time, it’s calling from beyond the grave. Universal Pictures has officially dropped the first trailer for The Black Phone 2, and yes, The Grabber is back — now more terrifying than ever.
Scott Derrickson’s 2022 horror hit, based on Joe Hill’s short story, was never designed to spawn a franchise. The original film followed Finney (Mason Thames), a kidnapped teen who received ghostly calls from the killer’s previous victims through a disconnected black rotary phone while trapped in a basement. By the film’s explosive finale (spoiler alert!), Finney escaped and killed The Grabber, played chillingly by Ethan Hawke.
So, how do you bring back a sequel when the villain is dead and the phone was disconnected?
The Grabber Returns — As a Vengeful Spirit
Director Scott Derrickson and co-writer C. Robert Cargill have found a devilishly clever way forward. In The Black Phone 2, The Grabber returns as a supernatural force, haunting the waking world from the afterlife. The trailer offers a spine-tingling preview: eerie visions, unsettling static, and a new black payphone connecting the living to something far darker.
Set in the early 1980s, four years after the events of the first film, the sequel shifts focus to Finney’s younger sister Gwen (Madeleine McGraw), who is now tormented by chilling nightmares of The Grabber. These visions send Gwen and Finney on a harrowing journey to Alpine Lake, a snow-covered winter camp hiding a new string of horrors.
Familiar Terror, New Nightmare
The trailer hints at a return to Derrickson’s signature style — think shadow-drenched corridors, grainy nightmare sequences, and surreal flashes that echo his previous film Sinister. And yes, there’s a new phone. It’s still black. But this time, it’s a payphone, with ominous energy of its own.
While The Black Phone wasn’t originally crafted as a franchise, early footage suggests the filmmakers have tapped into something fresh yet faithful. The Grabber’s mask, now imbued with ghostly menace, could be poised to become a lasting horror icon — and this sequel may dig even deeper into the emotional core that made the original so unexpectedly uplifting.
🎬 Release Date
The Black Phone 2 will arrive in UK cinemas on October 17, 2025 — just in time for Halloween season chills.
watch the trailer here.
