'The Forever Purge' Is The Final 'Purge' Movie Unless It's Not, Says Producer Jason Blum
Is The Purge franchise about to purge itself of any possible future installments? Maybe yes and maybe no. According to producer Jason Blum, who recently spoke with /Film, it all depends on franchise creator James DeMonaco, who directed the first three Purge films and has done the screenwriting on all five, including this week's new theatrical release, The Forever Purge.
The Purge franchise kicked off in 2013 with a deliciously high-concept film starring Ethan Hawke as a father whose family found their home under siege during an annual crime-free-for-all. It was like David Fincher's Panic Room except the whole house was locked down and the people trying to get in were celebrating a dystopian national holiday where all crime was legal for 12 hours across the U.S.
Since then, the series has delivered two Frank Grillo-led sequels, a prequel, and now, The Forever Purge (read our review here). The setting of the original film was 2022, however, and that's next year. For all we know, the next sequel could be a real-life Purge in the streets of America.
Will There Be a Sixth Purge Movie?
Our full interview with Blum will run soon, but in the meantime, here are the relevant parts of what he had to say to our own Jack Giroux about the early history of the franchise, its view of the American Dream, and a potential sixth Purge film.
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It's funny talking to you about the fifth Purge movie. I interviewed you for the first one, and at the time, you said there was a lot of doubt whether it would work.
That was a long time ago. It was the first movie I did for Universal. Universal's never released a $3 million movie in the history of the company, being Universal. So, just that was like, wait, we're going to spend $30 million to open a movie that cost $3 million? That made no sense. The movies are politically charged a little bit, which always makes everyone a little antsy. I'm glad they did, though. The rest is history, as the saying goes.
Does that still make people antsy?
Look what happened to The Hunt. I mean, it's complicated.
After the success of the first movie, did the franchise become what was originally imagined?
Even after the success of the first movie, I never thought I'd be talking to you about the fifth movie. And by the way, hoping we make a sixth movie. James [DeMonaco] has said, "This is the last movie." I'm going to try and talk him into another movie. I think the franchise has been a great comment on the hollowness of the American Dream. The American Dream is great for a very small handful of people, but there's really a lot of untruth in the American Dream. I think each Purge has touched on that.
The Purge is about a society without rules for a certain amount of time. This is about a society without rules, always. So, all the rules are out the window. There is no structure anymore. It's just total anarchy, which for me is a lot of fun. So, it's my favorite one. I think it's super scary and the craziest one we've ever done.
The Forever Purge hits theaters on July 2.