A Talk To Me Prequel Has Already Been Made - Directors Discuss Universe Potential

"Talk to Me" is already becoming another sleeper horror hit for A24. The film's already grossed $11 million worldwide with a budget of $5 million, but with positive word of mouth, that number will only grow. The success has put directors Danny and Michael Philippou on the map, and they're already eager to flesh out the universe of "Talk to Me" even further. 

When speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, the directors were asked about follow-ups to "Talk to Me," and they revealed they already shot a prequel: "We actually shot an entire Duckett prequel already. It's told entirely through the perspective of mobile phones and social media, so maybe down the line we can release that." The movie opens with Cole (Ari McCarthy) searching through a party for his brother, Duckett (Sunny Johnson). When he finds him, he's covered in wounds, but when he tries to get him out of there, things turn violent quickly. 

The opening scene shows what's at stake before meeting the main characters. And the ending of "Talk to Me" leaves the door open for more stories set in this disturbing world, which the Philippous have also considered. 

With a "Talk to Me" prequel already made and the growing success of the film, it only seems like a matter of time until audiences see that. But Danny and Michael Philippou are also looking for ways to push the story forward, and with any luck, a sequel could be coming down the pipeline. They went on to tell THR, "While writing the first film, you can't help but write scenes for a second film. So there's so many scenes. The mythology was so thick, and yeah, if A24 gave us the opportunity, we wouldn't be able to resist. I feel like we'd jump at it."

It's great to see success for "Talk to Me," considering it's an entirely original property. Turning it into a franchise would be amazing to see, but Michael admits they want to focus on original endeavors, too. He said, "We have a lot of original stories that we want to tell, but the Talk to Me stuff is exciting to us, too. So the idea of a sequel, we wouldn't be opposed to it." They already have one such original horror script called "Bring Her Back." But it sounds like they're open to adapting other properties, as Danny mentions "Street Fighter" as something they have their eyes on. 

Could "Talk to Me" become the next great horror franchise in the same vein as "Insidious" or "The Conjuring?" It's a big world out there, and with "Talk to Me" currently making waves, it'd be nice to see the Philippous pursue whatever they want going forward.