We had previously reported that Final Destination will be back with a seventh film. The latest update is that Belgian filmmaker Michiel Blanchart been roped in to direct the next instalment in the hit franchise following the latest film Final Destination: Bloodlines.
Bloodlines co-writer Lori Evans Taylor is returning to script the new film for New Line which will mark Blanchart's English-language debut.
The latest film, which was released in May this year, came 14 years after the fifth instalment. Directed by Adam Stein and Zach Lipovsky, Bloodlines served as a prequel to all the previous films and as sequel to Final Destination 5. It went on to become the highest-grossing installment in the franchise, earning over $300 million in box office collections worldwide.
The Final Destination franchise is New Line's third-largest horror franchise behind The Conjuring and IT movies. It revolves around a protagonist who gets a premonition about an impending disaster that kills everyone in the place including themselves. Once they save a group of friends, the lead character realises that death never likes to be cheated and would follow the people who were supposed to die. The latest film followed Kaitlyn Santa Juana as Stefani, a college student who began experiencing visions passed down from her dying grandmother—visions tied to a near-catastrophic skyscraper collapse in 1969. As her grandmother had warned, Death was now targeting their family. The film had Tony Todd in his final film appearance before his death.
Producers Craig Perry and Sheila Hanahan Taylor, longtime collaborators on the Final Destination franchise, return to produce the new installment alongside Jon Watts, his wife Dianne McGunigle, and Toby Emmerich. Warren Zide serves as executive producer.
Michiel Blanchart's short film You’re Dead, Hélène (T’es morte, Hélène) was shortlisted for the 2023 Academy Awards in the best live-action short film category. He made his feature debut with the crime thriller Night Call (Le nuit se traine) which won several accolades.