In my recent interview with Scott Derrickson about his upcoming film The Gorge, the filmmaker teased The Black Phone 2, which wrapped production last month in Toronto.

It was Joe Hill, author of the short story on which The Black Phone is based, who pitched the concept that made Derrickson want to return for a sequel.

“I didn’t feel obliged to make a sequel to that movie. Joe Hill came up with an idea that sparked my interest,” Derrickson tells Bloody Disgusting.

“I realized that if I made a big movie after Black Phone — which is The Gorge — by the time I finished it, all those kids would be in high school. So what I really wanted to do, and what I did, was I shot a high school coming-of-age movie in the same way that the first one was a middle school coming-of-age movie.”

Ethan Hawke will return...