8 Upcoming Movies That Will Be Nothing Like You're Expecting
5. The Purge 4
The Expectation: Another movie centred around Purge night.
Why That's Not The Case: Given that each of the first three Purge movies have been focused on Purge night itself, you would assume that the fourth movie would follow suit.
After all, that's what people are paying to see, and that's why the franchise has continued to find success. Purge night - a 12-hour period wherein all emergency services are cancelled and all crime is legal - is a brilliant concept, so it's not surprising that it's hooked audiences for three movies straight.
But the as-yet untitled The Purge 4 will be switching things up here, with the sequel said to be taking a step back in time, instead of a step forward.
James DeMonaco (who wrote and directed the first three) has stated that, although he probably won't return to helm The Purge 4, he does know what it will be about (via CinemaBlend):
"I would actually go back and I would try to talk about how it all started. That seems the natural next chapter in this, is to say, 'Alright, we've done this trilogy. We see how it got to this point of someone trying to end it - this presidential figure. Now let's go back and see how the f*ck all this came about.' How did this country get to a place where we were now accepting this kind of atrocity, this terrible thing, each year? I think there's something interesting in that."
This means that The Purge 4 will be a different beast entirely. If it takes place before Purge nights are a thing, that means there'll be a lot less violence and a lot less horror, with the movie possibly taking the shape of a political drama.
This won't exactly fulfil the expectations that audiences have of the Purge movies, but then again, it's wise for the series to try and switch things up after doing (largely) the same thing for three movies in a row.