If you’re anything like me, you’ve been quietly rooting for the long-rumored Happy Death Day 3 to materialize finally. Unfortunately, it’s been radio silence for a while, leaving fans wondering if Tree Gelbman’s story is stuck in its own development time loop, and it might never hit the upcoming horror movies schedule. According to writer-director Christopher Landon, it looks like the trilogy may never reach the finish line—and to make matters worse, he just revealed that they almost pulled the trigger on a pretty intriguing version of the sequel that has me feeling serious FOMO.
In an interview with SFX Magazine (our sister site), Landon admitted he was ready to get the third film off the ground years ago but never got the official green light. As he tells it:
I didn’t write the script because I never want to count my chickens and get ahead of myself. But I was ready to go and start writing this, but then it was sort of like, it was weird.
That weirdness, it turns out, involved some back-and-forth behind the scenes. Landon revealed that at one point, Universal and Blumhouse toyed with turning Happy Death Day 3 into a limited event series for anyone with a Peacock subscription. The filmmaker continued:
We had a lot of fits and spurts in terms of maybe we’ll do it. At one point they talked about it becoming a three-part event thing for [streaming service] Peacock, which was kind of weird. I was like, ‘Alriiiiiight! Whatever it takes.’ But then it went away and that was the last we ever heard of it – which was years ago.
Yes, you read that right: instead of a theatrical trilogy capper, there was talk of expanding it into a three-part streaming event. As a fan, hearing that is like realizing you were one timeline away from seeing a fully fleshed-out, episodic version of Tree’s next chaotic, time-warped nightmare.
For longtime fans, that’s the real gut punch. Landon confirmed what many have speculated: despite the films being financially successful (albeit the sequel underperforming expectations) and fan-loved, no one is pulling the trigger. The frustrating part? He’s just as puzzled as we are, revealing:
It’s been an interesting journey because both movies were financially very successful, so I think it’s left us and a lot of fans scratching their heads as to why we weren’t allowed to make a third. But I don’t control the purse strings, I don’t call those shots. That’s entirely up to Blumhouse and Universal, if they have an appetite or interest in it.
To recap: a third Happy Death Day wasn’t just idly discussed — there was momentum, ideas (including a proposed crossover with Freaky), and even early talks about transforming it into a multi-part streaming event. And then? Nothing. Silence. So, yeah, in a weird way, it feels like we missed out on something, and I hate that for us.
While Landon hasn’t closed the door entirely, the fact that it’s been years since those conversations took place doesn’t exactly inspire confidence. Still, there might be hope considering Blumhouse’s habit of reviving fan-favorite properties (looking at you, Halloween & The Exorcist). For now, we can only dream about what could have been and how crazy a streaming trilogy could’ve been and wonder if Tree will ever get one more shot at breaking the loop.