Jeepers Creepers: Reborn - What We Know So Far

After a third film that was panned by critics, a flop at the box office, and the center of a controversy stemming from writer and director Victor Salva's 1980s conviction for child molestation (via Decider), it seemed like the Jeepers Creepers franchise had died for good. But just like the eponymous monster, it was only in hibernation.

According to a report by Variety, Jeepers Creepers: Reborn is on the way with a new creative team behind it. Finnish director Timo Vuorensola, best known for the dark sci-fi comedy Iron Sky and its sequel (one of the post-apocalyptic hidden gems you need to watch on Netflix), will be helming the project with a script from Sean Michael Argo, a prolific B-movie writer and director.

The franchise's first film introduced viewers to the Creeper (Jonathan Breck), a humanoid creature that inhabits the American South and awakens every 23 years to harvest body parts. The timeline of the original trilogy concluded with the Creeper re-entering its period of hibernation after being seriously wounded. It's unclear how closely the new film will adhere to the continuity of the previous movies, but it seems likely that Jeepers Creepers: Reborn will see the creature awakening for a new hunt. Variety also indicates that this fourth installment is meant to be the first in a new trilogy of movies.

Here's everything else we know so far about Jeepers Creepers: Reborn.

According to Variety's reporting, filming of Jeepers Creepers: Reborn took place in Louisiana this past December and January. While there isn't a definitive release date for the film yet, they did indicate that the movie is expected to drop sometime in the fall of 2021.

A fall release window for a horror movie immediately brings to mind the possibility of a Halloween-adjacent premiere. However, Jeepers Creepers isn't a horror franchise that's necessarily associated with the designated creepiest day of the year. The lore of the Creeper itself states that the creature emerges in the spring. Furthermore, all of the previous films in the franchise were released in late August or September. They may change things up for the start of this new trilogy of films, but a release between the intense summer blockbuster season and the horror movie avalanche that comes in October may also make sense for this latest installment.

We'll get a firm release date as the year wears on, but for now it seems possible that Jeepers Creepers: Reborn will be coming out sometime in late August or September of 2021.

Despite the fact that Jeepers Creepers: Reborn has apparently finished filming and will be released this year, an official cast list for the movie has yet to surface. Because of that, it's hard to say exactly who will appear in this latest outing. The previous three films had casts that were mostly not very high-profile, with Justin Long being perhaps the most well-known star of the franchise to date. It's possible that the cast of the fourth movie will be similarly filled with unknowns.

One of the biggest questions regarding the cast of Jeepers Creepers: Reborn is whether or not Jonathan Breck — who is basically unrecognizable without his creature makeup — will return to play the Creeper. More than any of the humans in the films, the Creeper is the enduring figure from the original trilogy. It's the only character who appeared in all three films, and Breck's intimidating physical performance has been a defining feature of the franchise.

When rumors about a fourth installment were swirling in the summer of 2020, horror fansite iHorror spoke to Breck's agent about his possible involvement in the upcoming movie. His agent reportedly told them, "There's nothing to say really ... We have had no contact with anyone. However, that doesn't mean that something isn't being worked on."

It looks like we'll have to wait and see if Breck does return as the Creeper, and if so, who will be playing his prey.

One thing we did learn quite a bit about through Variety's reporting on Jeepers Creepers: Reborn is its plot. A synopsis for the movie reveals that the action will once again be taking place in the deep south, this time Louisiana. We also know that the movie will take place during an event known as the Horror Hound Festival, which "attracts hundreds of geeks, freaks and die-hard horror fans from far and wide." Sounds like the perfect place for the Creeper's post-hibernation feast.

The hero of this latest movie is Laine, who is attending the festival at the behest of her horror loving boyfriend, Chase. It's there that she begins to have disturbing visions that portend the arrival of the Creeper. The use of premonitions is not new for the series. Jeepers Creepers 2 also featured a character, Minxie (Nicki Aycox), who had prophetic visions of the Creeper's past victims trying to warn her about the monster. This aspect of the series' lore hasn't been too thoroughly explored in the previous movies, so it will be interesting to see how Laine's visions will be portrayed.

The history of the Creeper and the Louisiana town itself will reportedly be featured in these visions. Will Jeepers Creepers: Reborn be giving fans of the franchise an even deeper dive into the story behind the now-iconic monster? We'll have to wait until fall 2021 to find out.