‘Smile 3’ Reportedly Lands ‘Hellraiser’ Director David Bruckner!

The Smile franchise could be getting a new filmmaker behind those increasingly uncomfortable grins.

According to Daniel Richtman, David Bruckner (The Night House, Hellraiser, V/H/S) has been tapped to direct Smile 3 for Paramount Pictures, taking over from franchise creator Parker Finn while Finn directs his Possession remake. Paramount has not officially announced Bruckner’s involvement yet, but Dread Central has independently verified the report.

We reported back in March that a third film was in development and that Finn was unlikely to return to the director’s chair. Richtman’s report now gives us a possible answer to the big question of who would take over.

And Bruckner certainly has the background for it. Between The Signal, The Ritual, The Night House, his Hellraiser, not to mention his work on my V/H/S and Southbound, it’s clear he’s the right director for the job.

Finn wrote and directed the first two Smile films, with the sequel unleashing the curse on pop star Skye Riley, played by Naomi Scott. Dread Central gave it 4 out of 5 in our review, calling it “a fun, mean, and maddeningly inventive sequel.”