Maika Monroe will play the same character in a follow-up to the 2014 horror cult hit “It Follows.”
In “They Follow,” David Robert Mitchell and Maika Monroe reunite for the highly anticipated follow-up to the 2014 horror hit “It Follows.” Neon, the production company that won an Oscar for “Parasite,” will co-produce the movie and oversee its domestic distribution. Neon will showcase the film to prospective global purchasers during the current American Film Market. The film’s principal photography is slated to begin in 2024.
For the follow-up, David Robert Mitchell will serve as both the director and writer. Maika Monroe will reprise her role as Jay Height, the main character, from “It Follows.” The same creative team returns for the sequel, including Neon CEO Tom Quinn, who worked on the original “It Follows” release through his former business, Radius.
Despite having a little budget, the first movie was a huge hit in theaters, earning an astounding $15 million domestically.
“They Follow” is David Robert Mitchell’s first project since 2018
“They Follow” is David Robert Mitchell’s first endeavor following his mysterious neo-noir film “Under the Silver Lake” (2018), which starred Riley Keough and Andrew Garfield. Additionally, though it hasn’t yet gone into production, he and Anne Hathaway are now exploring a project at Warner Bros.
Following her appearance in the first “It Follows,” Maika Monroe has acted in films including “Honey Boy,” “Independence Day: Resurgence,” and “The 5th Wave.”
Notable films that Neon has distributed include “Parasite,” “I, Tonya,” “Spencer,” “Portrait of a Lady on Fire,” and “The Worst Person in the World.” Ava DuVernay’s “Origin” and Michael Mann’s “Ferrari” are two of the films that the business is in charge of distributing this year and are both thought to be Oscar candidates.
“They Follow,” which Neon is co-producing with Good Fear Content, will be shown to prospective foreign distributors during this week’s American Film Market event.
Upcoming movies at Neon include “Ferrari,” directed by Michael Mann and starring Adam Driver and Penelope Cruz, and “La Chimera,” directed by Alice Rohrwacher and starring Josh O’Connor. The Palme d’Or-winning movie “Anatomy of a Fall” directed by Justine Triet was also just released, and it is expected to be an Oscar contender.
In association with Neon, CAA Media Finance secured the deal for “They Follow”. David Fox, Good Fear Content, and CAA are the representatives of David Robert Mitchell at Myman Greenspan Fineman. Light, Rosenberg, and Fox. Maika Monroe is represented by Entertainment360 and WME. Hayden Godlblatt of FKKS, Allison Binder of GGSSC, and Michael Weiss of Concentric Law are the producers’ attorneys.
What happened in the previous movie?
In the first movie, Jay had to deal with an unyielding supernatural force that followed her around after she had intercourse with her boyfriend, Jake Weary. This nameless, unseen force sought to murder the next victim of a string of ominous-seeming sex encounters.
Jay had to make the difficult decision to either live her entire life avoiding the beast or pass the curse on to another victim. “It Follows” ended with an open ending in which Jay and her companion Paul, played by Keir Gilchrist, had a sexual act and hesitantly decided to face whatever consequences might come their way together, following multiple failed attempts to defeat the creature.
After making its debut at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, “It Follows” was later acquired by Radius-TWC for distribution. Two weeks after a successful limited release, on March 27, 2015, the movie received a wider release. Critics praised the film for its uniqueness and Maika Monroe’s performance in it. Despite having been made on a $1.3 million budget, it became a global success, making $23.3 million.
Recently, Maika Monroe wrapped up production for Oz Perkins’ film “Longlegs,” which also stars Nicolas Cage. This movie will be released by Neon in 2024. She has performed in Neil Jordan’s “Greta,” and she has also made appearances in “Honey Boy” and “Hot Summer Nights.”
