Is Krampus 2 Happening? It Seems Michael Dougherty Has More Christmas Fear To Spread

The subgenre of "Christmas movies" has been a curious one of late. While new movies set during the holiday season or others explicitly concerning it are released every year (especially holiday horror), it feels like we haven't gotten a new classic, gotta-watch-this-every-year holiday movie in a while. That's because, in all honesty, most classics aren't made, they're grown; it takes a few years for most films to prove their durability, and some that are overlooked upon their initial release get rediscovered and slowly morph into seasonal staples.

Filmmaker Michael Dougherty is intimately familiar with this process, as it's happened to him at least twice with two movies about two different holidays. His anthology of Halloween hijinks, 2007's "Trick 'r Treat," barely got a theatrical release before word of mouth allowed it to gain a cult reputation strong enough that a sequel has been rumored for years, and may actually happen. Similarly, Dougherty's follow-up, 2015's "Krampus," took the age-old mythological anti-Claus creature and inserted him into a feature-length narrative with laughs, scares, and imagination to spare.

While it didn't make a huge pop culture splash, "Krampus" enjoyed a healthy theatrical run, making $61.5 million against a $15 million budget, and its reputation has only grown since its release. Concurrent with the push to get "Trick 'r Treat 2" made, Dougherty has also begun speaking publicly about the possibility of a "Krampus 2," so could that mean there's more Christmas fear to come? Read on!

Given the decent financial success of "Krampus," it's a little surprising that "Krampus 2" hasn't been made yet, with "Trick 'r Treat 2" seemingly taking priority for Dougherty. In fairness, "Trick 'r Treat" has about as much cultural cache as "Krampus" these days; merch exists for both films, but the impish Sam from the Halloween-set film seems to have an edge over the ancient Yuletide demon (and let's be real — Sam is much more adorable). Also, it's not like Dougherty needed to work on a sequel to either film right away, as he moved on from "Krampus" to make "Godzilla: King of the Monsters" in 2019.

More importantly, the anthology style of "Trick 'r Treat" makes a sequel a far more natural fit; there are endless permutations and explorations about the Halloween mythos and all that surrounds it that can be utilized, and since the original film doesn't contain a particular storyline or cast of characters that demand to be included (just Sam, and his mercurial nature can be applied just about anywhere), it's bound to be simple enough to cook something up.

"Krampus," meanwhile, was heavily centered around the Engel clan: young Max (Emjay Anthony), father Tom (Adam Scott), mother Sarah (Toni Collette), sister Beth (Stefania LaVie Owen), grandmother Omi (Krista Stadler) and their extended family, led by uncle Howard (David Koechner) and aunt Linda (Allison Tolman). While the film closes the tale of this ensemble of characters in deliciously ambiguous fashion, the question of whether a sequel might feel compromised if none of them reappeared, as well as just what such a sequel could even be is likely the reason for "Krampus 2" being on the back burner this long.

In October of last year, Dougherty spoke to Collider's Perri Nemiroff after a screening of "Trick 'r Treat," and gave her the scoop on what he might be cooking for a possible "Krampus 2." In Dougherty's words:

"We have an idea for a sequel on that one, too. It doesn't necessarily center around a family as much as it might be about a group of strangers who are trapped somewhere."

Obviously, "Krampus 2" is much less further along than "Trick 'r Treat 2," as that sequel not only has a concept but a full draft of a script completed (by "Krampus" co-writers Zach Shields and Tom Casey, no less), and Dougherty has been hinting that the sequel could enter production tantalizingly soon. Chances are we'll have to wait and see if that movie manifests before thinking much more about a "Krampus 2," but the fact that Dougherty is going publicly on record as considering it is a very good sign.

Unpacking Dougherty's statement on a potential "Krampus 2" is as ultimately futile as guessing what present is in what wrapped box under the Christmas tree. In other words, there could be anything in there.

However, his idea, though vague, does seem to hint at a few fascinating possibilities. On the one hand, "a group of strangers who are trapped somewhere" could simply be a reiteration of the main plot of "Krampus," in which the Engel family, thanks to Max's broken letter to Santa, are trapped in their own neighborhood while Gruss vom Krampus and his minions torment them. So, Dougherty could simply mean that a new cast of characters unrelated to each other might draw the ire of the demon this time around.

More intriguingly, however, is the idea that the "somewhere" these people are trapped in might refer to the otherworldly lair of Krampus that is revealed in the final shot of the original film. The ending, as I mentioned earlier, is ambiguous — it could imply that the Engel family have been given a second chance thanks to Max's sacrifice to save them, and that they're forever under the watchful eye of Krampus should they slip up. It could also mean that they haven't actually been saved, and their "second chance" is limited to them being trapped in a snow globe inside Krampus' lair. Could this "somewhere" be this lair, and thus strangers from various snow globes find that they've been trapped there by the demon?

Who, if anyone, will star in a "Krampus 2" is kind of the million dollar question when it comes to a sequel. Conventional wisdom would seem to dictate that one if not several of the actors from the original film should make an appearance, and with names like Scott, Collette, Koechner and Tolman, their return would certainly help sell the movie. If the plot ends up being close to the "Krampus' lair" idea I described earlier, then seeing one of the Engels (if not all of them) would be imperative, as they could catch any new characters up to speed.

However, if Dougherty is planning on essentially anthologizing "Krampus" (and really, this would seem the most likely option), then all bets are off when it comes to casting. Dougherty has been lucky enough to work with a plethora of great actors over the three films he's directed, including people like Anna Paquin, Brian Cox, Vera Farmiga, Charles Dance, and Millie Bobby Brown. He could tap any of these people, or none of them, using his clout to cast up-and-coming players and other big names to keep the world of "Krampus" alive.

Asking after the human stars of a "Krampus 2" is the wrong question, ultimately; what we all should be asking is what new creatures Dougherty and his cohorts will come up with this time. After the first film's sweetly deadly Gingerbread Men, the ghastly Der Klown, the ghoulish Perchta the Cherub, and others, the snowy sky's the limit for more holiday horrors. Here's ho-ho-hoping we get to experience them soon.

"Krampus 2" has no current release date.