‘Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark’ Sequel Is Stuck in Legal Limbo

CBS Films released Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, an adaptation of the beloved children’s horror book series by Alvin Schwartz, in theaters on August 9, 2019.

While it was never positioned as a massive blockbuster, the film became a quiet box office success, earning roughly $68 million domestically and more than $104 million worldwide against a reported production budget of just $25 million.

Critics were also surprisingly receptive to the film. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark currently holds a 78% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, while audiences gave it a 72% Popcornmeter score. The film was praised for its creepy atmosphere, memorable monster designs, and how effectively it captured the feeling of classic gateway horror… scary enough to thrill younger audiences while still delivering genuine horror for longtime fans.

The film performed well enough that conversations about a sequel started almost immediately after release. Yet now, nearly seven years later, fans are still waiting for meaningful updates on Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark 2. For a long time, the silence surrounding the project was confusing, but now we finally know why.

Unfortunately, the sequel has reportedly become caught up in a complex legal situation between CBS Films and EOne, two companies connected to the original film that have since shut down. Until the rights issues are untangled, the project cannot fully move forward.

Director André Øvredal, whose latest horror film Passenger opens in theaters tomorrow from Paramount Pictures, recently spoke with Slashfilm about the stalled sequel. According to Øvredal, the project is still alive, but the situation is largely out of his hands until lawyers can resolve the legal complications – and as Hollywood history has shown time and time again, those situations can take years to sort out.

“I mean, yes and no. What I can say is that it’s been stuck in a bit of a copyright ownership hell with two studios that don’t exist anymore, that produced a movie together, CBS Films and EOne, and they don’t really exist anymore,” Øvredal told the website.