Troll 2 - Director, Writer And More Info

They say that on quiet nights you can hear the chants coming from small Norwegian villages, "More 'Troll,' more 'Troll,' MORE 'TROLL!'" Indeed, fans of the Norwegian straight-to-Netflix creature feature "Troll" have been famished for more troll-on-human violence since the film's release in 2022. 

Directed by Roar Uthaug, the accomplished filmmaker behind high-intensity spectacles such as "The Wave" and 2018's "Tomb Raider" reboot, "Troll" was something of a surprise hit on the streaming platform. Back in December of 2022, "Troll" scored the second spot on Netflix's coveted "Top 10 Most Watched" list, right behind the smash hit series "Wednesday." For a foreign film dropped on the platform with little to no marketing, that's majorly impressive. Even more so, "Troll" went on to become Netflix's most-watched non-English film of all time.

The critical reception of "Troll" was mixed but fairly positive, with the Los Angeles Times' Noel Murray writing that "it's no secret why Netflix's monster movie 'Troll' is so popular," that is, because it "has a blockbuster polish without the Hollywood heaviness." True, there were gripes about the film shirking some cultural context around Norwegian mountain trolls, as well as the low-rent Roland Emmerich vibes of the whole affair. But on the whole, "Troll" was successful enough to garner "will there be a sequel?" buzz — and to get an answer of "yes, there will!"

The great news is that Netflix has ordered a sequel to "Troll." Variety reported in September 2023 that the team behind "Troll" — including director Roar Uthaug, writer Espen Aukan, and producers Espen Horn and Kristian Strand Sinkerud — have begun work on mounting a follow-up to the cottage-smashing, mountain-leveling madness of the first film. 

An exact premiere date has not been set for the sequel. The film is likely deep in pre-production, which is the trickiest stage of filmmaking, as it can last anywhere from a few months to several years. There are two things on the side of "Troll 2" ("Untitled Troll Sequel," "2 Troll 2 Furious" — whatever you want to call it) that should make fans optimistic. First, this is a completely Norwegian production, so it wasn't affected by the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. The second vote of confidence is that the film already has production and distribution lined up (Netflix), which means financing should be a piece of cake — ergo, more troll content faster.

We know nothing about what will actually happen in "Troll 2." In the Variety sequel announcement, producers Espen Horn and Kristian Strand Sinkerud commented that "Troll 2" will be "again spinning on a Norwegian fairy tale figure, played, directed and produced by Norwegians." Nothing very revelatory there. But in an older interview with What's On Netflix, conducted around the time of the release of "Troll," Sinkerund got a little more revealing:

"As filmmakers, you always have ambitions to make something that can last a little longer than one film. Of course, we have ambitions to make a sequel and perhaps two sequels, but it all depends on how the audience are responding to 'Troll.'"

"Perhaps two sequels" is just specific enough language to make us think they didn't merely have the desire to make a sequel upon the release of "Troll" but already had ideas on paper. Plot details may be coming sooner than we might have thought.

Roar Uthaug will be back for the next "Troll" film. If you're a fan of directors who can take on large-scale action epics at moderately-scaled budgets and make them feel intimate and personal while not skimping on any of the chaos or thrills, you need to put Uthaug on your radar. Think Paul W.S. Anderson, David Leitch, or yes, Roland Emmerich. Uthaug's filmography is actually quite interesting because before his big international breakout came in 2015 ("The Wave," apparently Norway's "first disaster movie" about a very Norwegian disaster — a huge, ice-cold tidal wave), he'd directed a historical epic, a slasher film, a political short, and even a Christmas movie! He's a real jack of all trades, but he's lately become a master of one: the disaster film.

"The Wave" was epic, and "Troll" is divine. His take on "Tomb Raider" didn't rob our jewels, but it's all the more proof that he needs to be blowing up buildings, not directing actors to infiltrate them. Uthaug is officially confirmed for the sequel to "Troll," and it's easy to see why. The film was his biggest hit by a massive margin, racking up 103,000,000 views in its first 91 days. As we just detailed, Uthaug seems driven by the challenge of tackling new material in new genres, so perhaps "Troll 2" will mark a departure from the look and feel of the first.

The writer behind "Troll," Espen Aukan is also returning, per Variety. His only previous feature was a Norwegian werewolf movie called "Viking Wolf," which sounds pretty awesome to us.