10 Reasons Horror Sequels Haven't Happened Yet

Even though the fan response to Don't Breathe 2 was incredibly mixed - with many questioning the decision to make an anti-hero out of Stephen Lang's horrifically unsavoury lead character - it was still a box office success, grossing over $50 million against a mere $15 million budget.

Granted, that take was barely one-third of the first film's mighty $157.8 million haul, but ever since the release of Don't Breathe 2, Lang, the original film's director Fede Álvarez, and the sequel's director Rodo Sayagues (who also co-wrote the original) have been eager to get a threequel made.

Álvarez and Sayagues even teased the possibility of a third film in which Lang's Norman Nordstrom comes to blows with original heroine Rocky (Jane Levy) once again.

Yet the better part of four years have passed since the second movie and we appear no closer to Don't Breathe 3. The reason for this isn't the second film's diminished box office returns, though, but the success of the recent Alien: Romulus.

The Alien sequel, which was directed by Álvarez and co-written by Sayagues, has kept the pair busy for years, and the film's critical and commercial success has resulted in them being invited back to produce a follow-up.

In fact, the Romulus sequel is currently scheduled to start shooting in October, likely for a late 2026 or early 2027 release. 

And if the sequel manages to match or even exceed the success of Romulus, there's no reason to doubt that the duo will again return for a third film.

And so, it's quite possible that Don't Breathe 3 is benched until around 2030, at which point too much time may have passed for it to be worthwhile. 

And of course, that's without even considering the fact that Stephen Lang will be almost 80 years old by 2030.