In a decade filled with years-late sequels to old franchises, one of the most unexpected ones to be announced is 3 from Hell: a follow-up to Rob Zombie’s The Devil’s Rejects. The third (and maybe final) installment in Zombie’s unofficial Firefly trilogy will see the return of the remaining members of the Firefly family – namely Baby (Sheri Moon Zombie), Otis (Bill Moseley), and Captain Spaulding (Sid Haig) – as they try to escape the law’s grasp once again.
Outside of some of the cast’s roles and a potential 2019 release date, little to nothing is known about 3 from Hell. The mere presence of the sequel has raised both eyebrows and questions from Zombie’s fans, and here are 10 such questions about the Firefly Family’s story that we hope 3 from Hell will answer.
Will Dr. Satan Return?
A scene deleted from The Devil’s Rejects had the monstrous Dr. Satan – supposedly the body loaded into the ambulance in the movie’s beginning – kill Rosario Dawson during her cameo. However, it was cut by Zombie due to its tonal inconsistency with the rest of the movie. In the director’s words, it was like “seeing Chewbacca in The Wild Bunch.”
Even if the scene was shot, it’s possible for Zombie to ignore it and bring back either Dr. Satan in some capacity. Will Dr. Satan return, or will 3 From Hell focus on just the Firefly trio?
Are There Any Other Unaccounted Fireflies?
In The Devil’s Rejects, most of the Firefly clan is killed but the movie doesn’t show what happened to everyone else introduced in House of 1000 Corpses. Some unaccounted names include Dr. Satan’s assistant Earl and the elderly Grandpa Firefly.
Sheriff Wydell also has a list of the Fireflies’ possible aliases, which are all based on characters Groucho Marx portrayed. Since Marx has many roles to his name, it’s possible that Wydell’s list contains surviving Fireflies in hiding. Whether or not these new and old family members will resurface is currently unknown.
What Happened To Tiny?
After saving his remaining family members, Tiny Firefly walks back into their burning home before it exploded, presumably killing the family’s giant. But since 3 from Hell centers on three killers who seemed to be shot to death one movie ago, Tiny’s return wouldn’t be farfetched at all.
Sadly, Tiny’s actor Matthew McGrory passed in 2005, and The Devil’s Rejects was dedicated to him. Discounting the off-chance that Zombie would ever recast the role, it’s highly unlikely that Tiny will return in the upcoming sequel and the most that fans could hope for is some verbal confirmation regarding his fate.
Will Captain Spaulding Know About Charlie’s Death?
Thanks to Wydell’s intimidation, brothel owner Charlie – Captain Spaulding’s old partner-in-crime and friend – felt like he had no choice but to surrender the Fireflies to the sheriff and the Unholy Two. He later comes back to save Baby but is killed for his efforts.
Since Charlie and Captain Spaulding have been friends for a long time, Charlie’s betrayal obviously hurt but he did try to redeem himself. Did Baby tell Captain what his old friend did in his last moments, or was his redemption ultimately forgotten?
What Will The Unholy Two Do?
A returning character from The Devil’s Rejects is Rondo (Danny Trejo), a part of the bounty-hunting Unholy Two. Previously, Wydell hired Rondo and Billy Ray Sniper to track down the Fireflies and their associates – what Rondo’s up to now is currently unknown, although it can’t be good for the Fireflies.
Unfortunately, only half of the Unholy Two will be back, as Diamond Dallas Page confirmed that his character Sniper won’t return due to his tonal dissonance with 3 from Hell. Still, he remains excited about the sequel and encourages fans to watch it on opening day.
Will Someone Avenge Sheriff Wydell?
A major theme of The Devil’s Rejects was the Fireflies’ past coming back to haunt them through the vengeful Wydell, who wanted the murderous family to pay for their many victims, specifically his brother who died in House of 1000 Corpses.
Following his death at the hands of Tiny, it would make sense for someone close to the sheriff to continue the cycle of vengeance. The question now isn’t just if someone will chase the Fireflies again, but whether or not they’ll finish what Wydell was a few seconds away from accomplishing.
What’s The Family Dynamic?
Though they started off by being hostile and rude towards one another, the remaining Fireflies finally get along by the end of The Devil’s Rejects, even choosing to die in a blaze of glory as a family.
3 from Hell will see them get the band back together, but how they’ll interact is still up in the air. Will Otis and Captain Spaulding revert to swearing at each other while Baby yells at them to shut up, or have they put their differences aside for good? Only time will tell how civil the upcoming murderous family reunion will be.
Did The Fireflies Grow A Conscience?
Surprisingly for something as unapologetic as House of 1000 Corpses, its sequel forces its killers to answer for their actions. In The Devil’s Rejects’ final act, the remaining Fireflies learn what it’s like to be at the mercy of a deranged killer, and none of them are laughing by the end of their ordeal.
But if the first few clips of 3 from Hell are any indication, the Fireflies didn’t change and are back to laughing mad. Does this mean they've returned to their old ways or is this just their default coping mechanism?
How Did They Survive?
The most obvious question about a follow-up to The Devil’s Rejects is how there can be one in the first place since the protagonists were killed. After escaping their burning house, the remaining Fireflies die while charging at a police barricade in a final act of defiance.
While horror movie killers surviving a hail of bullets isn’t new, the Fireflies – who are serial killers with no superhuman or supernatural abilities – were explicitly shown to be on the receiving end of fatal gunshots. Zombie, however, promised that his sequel would reveal how they made it out alive.
Will The Last Fireflies Die This Time?
The Devil’s Rejects was a tragically fitting end for Firefly family and there’s (apparently) more to Baby, Otis, and Captain Spaulding that needs to be told. But if the upcoming sequel follows its predecessor’s themes, this may be the end for some or all of the Fireflies.
The three Fireflies are killers whose pasts are coming after them and as the previous movie showed, even notorious sadists such as them can’t outrun justice forever. If 3 from Hell is meant to be the finale for Zombie’s Firefly trilogy, not everyone’s going to make it out alive.