Screenshot : They Live

Sure, he’d rather play open-world RPGs and toy with his synthesizers than direct another movie, but horror’s siren song continues to call for John Carpenter. Though he’s indifferent to Dwayne Johnson’s proposed Big Trouble In Little China sequel, he’s expressed interest of late in revisiting some of his other iconic properties. That includes his 1988 sci-fi satire, They Live, which, if his recent comments in Den Of Geek are to be believed, could be getting a sequel.


They Live follows a homeless drifter who, thanks to a pair of special sunglasses, can see the secret, subliminal world in which we actually live, one where aliens push capitalism and outmoded gender politics on unaware humans. It’s a relevant story in any modern timeline, and would play like gangbusters in the Trump era so it’s not much a surprise that Carpenter says a sequel “might be closer to reality than you think.”

Carpenter also confirms that this sequel is different from War for the Planet of the Apes director Matt Reeves’ potential remake from nearly a decade ago, saying that Reeves has “moved on.”


The interview also finds Carpenter addressing recent comments he made regarding a Prince of Darkness series for Shudder, though here, too, he opts for the tease. “It’s not a lie,” he said, “but it’s not ready to go yet, so rather than discuss it, I think I won’t.” Come on, John.

It’s hard not to be excited for either project, though perhaps we should be a bit more cautious, what with Hollywood’s proven inability to recreate the magic of Carpenter’s best flicks. Oh, Halloween, we had such high hopes for you.