Horror Movie Spin-Offs You Didn't Know Were In The Works

In a world that's hungry for entertainment, studios are constantly looking for ways to satisfy this demand. While there's been plenty of terrific original content to enjoy across various streaming platforms, sometimes it's easier for studios to update and expand existing properties. This means that much of the content we consume is a sequel, prequel, reboot, remake, reimagining, or spin-off. While some may point to this as the lack of fresh ideas coming out of Hollywood, there's no denying that fans love it when their favorite fictional worlds are built out into new stories.

This rapid universe-building trend may seem like a fairly new concept, but this idea was actually employed decades ago with the classic Universal Monsters. When "Dracula" first terrified audiences back in 1931, it was only a matter of time before Frankenstein, the Invisible Man, the Mummy, and other monsters got their own film series, and even started crossing over with one another. So really, it only makes sense that the horror genre would continue its tradition of spinning off into other tangential storylines. Read on to discover the horror movie spin-offs you didn't know were in the works!

Made in 2000, "Bring It On" tells the story of the Rancho Carne High School cheerleading squad, the Toros, who've won the last five national championship trophies and are poised to win the next competition. Senior cheerleader Torrance Shipman is ready to lead her team to victory but discovers that the Toros' signature routines had been shamelessly lifted from an East Compton-based hip-hop dance crew called the Clovers. Because the Toros' previous captain had been in charge of choreographing their routines, it's now up to Torrance to come up with new moves before the upcoming championship. The Clovers, meanwhile, struggle to raise funds for travel costs to the competition in order to get the credit for their original dance routine.

"Bring It On" was a box office smash, becoming a cult classic and spawning numerous sequels: "Bring It On Again," "Bring It On: All or Nothing," "Bring It On: In It to Win It," "Bring It On: Fight to the Finish," and "Bring It On: Worldwide Cheersmack." Now, another installment is in the works, but this one is taking a different approach: it will be a horror movie. That's right, the teen comedy series is going for screams as it follows a cheerleading team whose members start to go missing when they rehearse in an abandoned gym. Titled "Bring It On: Cheer or Die," the film will premiere on Syfy sometime in fall 2022, just in time for the Halloween season.

"A Quiet Place" is a terrific sci-fi horror film with a refreshingly unique premise: The Earth is invaded and ravaged by a vicious alien race that is blind yet has hyper-sensitive hearing. The film follows the plight of a family that does its best to survive and stay together while being as silent as possible. For a film that's largely sans dialogue, "A Quiet Place" was never boring and kept the tension high even with a lack of the usual chit-chat and sound effects we're used to in most modern movies. The film was a big hit, and was followed by the equally great sequel "A Quiet Place Part II." Taking place right after the events of the previous installment, this film follows the family as they set out in search of a new haven, but must deal with navigating a dangerous landscape with a newborn baby, hostile survivors, and more.

Because of the success of "A Quiet Place Part II," a third installment is in the works. However, the series will be expanding further with a spin-off, "A Quiet Place: Day One." While John Krasinski helmed the first two installments (and is expected to helm "Part III"), he will hand off directing duties to Michael Sarnoski, who recently directed the Nicolas Cage thriller "Pig." While there haven't been too many details revealed about the spin-off, if the title is anything to go by it will most likely be a prequel of sorts.

"The Conjuring" universe kicked off in 2013 with a film based on the real-life cases of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. It was only inevitable for the hit film to receive a sequel, which introduced even more elements that would continue to be explored in spin-off films, such as the "Annabelle" series and "The Curse of La Llorona." One of the villains who made their debut in "The Conjuring 2" was Valak, a demonic nun who had several memorable scenes. Bonnie Aarons would reprise her role as the titular character in her own movie, 2018's "The Nun," taking place in Romania in 1952 and serving as a semi-prequel to the main "Conjuring" universe.

It looks like we'll be seeing even more of Aarons' terrifying performance as Valak, as "The Nun 2" was recently announced to be in development. Fans of the "Conjuring" universe will be pleased to know that it will be directed by Michael Chaves, who helmed other films in the franchise including "The Curse of La Llorona" and "The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It," so expect plenty of ties to the wider cinematic universe. A synopsis for "The Nun 2" states that it will be set in France in 1956 and that it will see the return of Sister Irene as she must contend with Valak after the mysterious murder of a priest. As of this writing, it's unclear if Taissa Farmiga will return as Irene.

Written and directed by veteran horror filmmaker Ti West, "X" was a gloriously gory throwback to grindhouse slasher cinema of the 1970s and 1980s. Set in 1979, the film follows a small film crew led by producer Wayne who believes he has a fresh idea for an adult film, titled "The Farmer's Daughters." Wayne and his crew find the perfect shooting location: a small cabin on the farm owned by an elderly couple Howard and Pearl. While Wayne has not told the owners that he's shooting a pornographic film, Howard and Pearl are hiding an even darker secret, and it's not long before the bodies start piling up in a supremely bloody fashion.

Critics lauded the film's perverse modern twist on the classic slasher formula, so it's no surprise that this world will be fleshed out further in a prequel called "Pearl," which focuses on the villainess' early life. However, it should be noted that the movie has already been shot — in secret, no less — and was even teased in a post-credits scene. Mia Goth, who played both the young Maxine and the old Pearl, will return as a young Pearl. While the film doesn't have an official release date yet, considering it's in post-production now means that it may be released later this year. There's also a good chance that we'll see even more expansion of this franchise, as West told IndieWire that, "you can't make a slasher movie without a bunch of sequels."

Bram Stoker's "Dracula" is not only one of the all-time great horror novels, its title character has been seen on the big and little screen countless times. It seems that audiences just can't get enough of the deadly yet suave bloodsucker, which is a testament to just how wonderful a character Drac is. One of the more interesting sequences in the original novel that has rarely been given much attention in cinematic adaptations involves the crew of the ship the Demeter, charged with the task of delivering crates of earth from Dracula's castle in the Carpathian mountains to his new home in London. Throughout the trip, the crew experiences bizarre incidents, such as crew members going missing, reports of a strange man, and more.

It's actually quite a terrifying sequence from the novel, and it will finally get its due in an upcoming film, "Last Voyage of the Demeter." While the Demeter portion of the plot only comprised one chapter of "Dracula," it will be fascinating to see a feature-length film dedicated to the crew's story and their interaction with everyone's favorite vampire. The film will be directed by André Øvredal, whose previous forays into horror include 2019's "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark" and 2016's "The Autopsy of Jane Doe." Cast members include Corey Hawkins, Nikolai Nikolaeff, Liam Cunningham, David Dastmalchian, and others. "Last Voyage of the Demeter" is scheduled to be released on August 11, 2023.

Like the ship Demeter, the character of Renfield also hails from Bram Stoker's novel "Dracula." A solicitor who fell under the spell of the bloodsucking Count, he's eventually committed to an insane asylum in London because of his obsessive and aberrant behavior, the most disturbing of which includes eating living things in hopes of absorbing their life. He starts off small, first consuming flies before moving up to moths, spiders, and birds, believing all the while that they're prolonging his life. Renfield's lust for the life essence of others reaches a new height when he attacks the asylum's administrator, Dr. John Seward, cutting his arm and licking the blood from the wound that has dripped onto the floor. When Dracula discovers that Renfield confessed his plan to those hunting him, he appears in Renfield's cell and murders him for this betrayal.

It seems that movie studios have found plenty of material in the beloved novel worthy of the big-screen treatment. Universal Pictures, who created the original shared horror cinematic universe, is working on a film centered on the character of Renfield, with Nicholas Hoult tapped to play Drac's mad assistant. More interestingly, Nicolas Cage has signed on to play Dracula, giving the actor another chance to don the fangs after 1988's "Vampire's Kiss." The film will follow Renfield's quest to end his servitude to Dracula after centuries of doing his bidding. Directing the film is Chris McKay, who previously helmed "The Tomorrow War" and "The Lego Batman Movie."

The "Alien" franchise kicked off with 1979's "Alien," which followed the crew of the spaceship Nostromo as they're terrorized by a ferocious alien creature, leaving Ripley (played by Sigourney Weaver) as the only survivor. "Alien" was a box office success, and led to a sequel written and directed by James Cameron. Raising the stakes by having Ripley and a team of marines take on even more Xenomorphs — along with their massive queen — "Aliens" managed to both equal its predecessor while greatly expanding the universe. The series continued with 1992's "Alien 3," 1997's "Alien Resurrection," and even a couple of movies pitting the Xenomorph against the Predator. Those two crossover films didn't take either the "Alien" or the "Predator" series in any particularly interesting directions, so it was a relief when original director Ridley Scott returned to the franchise with 2012's "Prometheus" and 2017's "Alien: Covenant," which massively built on the "Alien" mythology.

It now looks like it will experience further expansion with a new series set to premiere on FX and will be overseen by "Fargo" showrunner Noah Hawley. Key details on the series are still mostly under wraps, but CEO of FX John Landgraf has confirmed that it will take place before the original "Alien," and won't feature any existing series characters. Ridley Scott will be on board as an executive producer of the show.

The fictional town of Derry should be very familiar to Stephen King fans. While its first appearance was in his short story "The Bird and the Album" from 1981, Derry is most famous for serving as the setting for his novel "It" and was portrayed in both the 1990 miniseries and recent two-part film.

Because the town is so prevalent in the Stephen King universe, it's no wonder why it would go on to serve as the basis of a TV show, which is now being developed by HBO Max. According to Variety, "It: Part One" and "It: Part Two" director Andy Muschietti will be an executive producer on the series, and will also direct its pilot. It's said that it will be set in the 1960s and lead up to "It: Part One", exploring the origins of Pennywise along the way. "Welcome to Derry" also seems to be something Stephen King himself would like to see, as he stated in an episode of "The Losers' Club: A Stephen King Podcast": 

"I'd love to see what Pennywise was up to 27 years before the '50s. Or, I guess it would be the '80s because they updated the [setting]. It'll be interesting to see what will happen with that."

The 2009 film "Orphan" was a clever take on the "evil child" horror movie trope. The film starred Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard as Kate and John Coleman, a couple whose marriage has been on the rocks since the tragic stillbirth of their baby. The Colemans are determined to make things work and have another child, so they choose adoption as a suitable solution. They welcome the 9-year-old Esther into their family and are instantly impressed with the maturity and intelligence she displays. However, the couple soon begins to notice her disturbing and manipulative behavior and learn that there's far more to Esther's past than they first realized.

Fans of "Orphan" will be thrilled to learn that the film is receiving a prequel that will see Isabelle Fuhrman reprise the role of Leena Klammer/Esther (we won't reveal any spoilers, but those who've seen "Orphan" will understand why there are two names attached to Fuhrman's role), along with the return of the previous film's screenwriters David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick and Alex Mace. "Orphan: First Kill" currently doesn't have an official release date, but stay tuned for updates!

The Crooked Man is one of the more memorable entities that haunt the "Conjuring" universe, making a grand entrance in "The Conjuring 2." In the film, the Hodgson family is being terrorized by a string of supernatural events at their home in England, prompting them to stay with their neighbors, the Nottinghams. One night while everyone is asleep, one of the Hodgson children named Billy walks around the house by himself, only to come face-to-face with the Crooked Man, an abnormally tall and malformed version of the figure from the children's rhyme. Later on in the film, Ed Warren has a confrontation with the ghoulish figure that chases him around the Hodgson home with his spiked umbrella.

There's been talk of a "Crooked Man" solo film for several years now, but because we haven't been given an official announcement on its cancellation there's still hope that it will materialize. In a 2017 interview with Entertainment Weekly, "The Conjuring" director James Wan gave some details on the direction he'd like to take the spin-off film, saying "I would love to push it more down somewhat of that dark fairytale, and more whimsical, subgenre." So far, the "Conjuring" universe has stuck pretty close to the straight-up horrific side of things, so it'd be nice to take the franchise down a more fantastical path.