The Collected, the third movie in The Collector film series, may never happen, leaving the trilogy unfinished. Written by Feast collaborators, Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton, and helmed by Dunstan, The Collector was initially pitched as a prequel to James Wan and Leigh Whannell's Saw films under the title, The Midnight Man. But when the producers turned down the offer, the horror movie became a franchise of its own, spanning two films - The Collector, which premiered in 2009, and its sequel The Collection, released in 2012. While both the movies were lambasted by critics, particularly for their displays of gore and tasteless nudity, they performed decently at the box office and amassed a cult following that regarded the titular serial killer as a horror icon.

In May 2019, a third film, titled The Collected (stylized as The Coll3cted), was also announced, with original stars Josh Stewart, Emma Fitzpatrick, and Navi Rawat returning to reprise their roles. The movie began filming later that year, but production was bafflingly suspended after only eight days of shooting. Then, in December 2020, the film's producers announced that production would resume in January 2021 in Vancouver, Canada. Additionally, it was reported that horror prodigy, Tom Atkins (Halloween II) had joined the cast alongside Randy Havens (Stranger Things) and Dot-Marie Jones (American Horror Story). However, despite the announcements, The Collected did not start back up. And there hasn't been any update concerning the progress of the film since. But now, filmmakers Dunstan and Melton have opened about the movie's status, explaining what the prolonged period in development hell means for the third installment of their trilogy.

Related: Everything We Know About The Collected

Appearing on The Thing With Two Heads podcast (via Movieweb), Dunstan and Melton revealed that The Collected might not happen after all, leaving their trilogy without a definitive conclusion. The writer-director duo said their efforts to reach out to the producers have all gone in vain as they would not return their phone calls and emails. They have no idea why the production did not restart as planned, nor do they know if there are any plans to begin filming in the future. Dunstan and Melton added that they'd love to finish up the story, but they do not have the rights to the film. So they cannot possibly move ahead with the project, even if other producers express interest. They said:

I invested in this thing, I’d like to know what’s happening. We stopped hearing from anybody with the production. I know most of the props I brought there [Vancouver’s set] have been stolen. I would think that anybody else who invested in this movie that thinks that it [The Collection] is happening, wouldn’t they like to know what’s happening? All calls and emails have gone unanswered. When you can’t get anyone on the phone and you don’t hear anything, at this point, I’m really pissed off.

The villain in The Collector (2009)

The Collector, as well its sequel, features Stewart in the lead role as Arkin O’Brien. In the first movie, Arkin, an ex-convict, conspires a heist at his employer's country home to repay his ex-wife's debt. But as he breaks into the house, he realizes that a serial killer has set it up with a series of lethal traps. Arkin manages to rescue his master's daughter Hannah, but he is kidnapped by the Collector, who holds him captive in a trunk. In the second movie, Arkin is unknowingly freed by a young woman named Elena, who, in the process, gets abducted by the Collector herself. Arkin thus travels to the notorious criminal's booby-trapped lair to free the girl. Through a series of grisly thrills and twisty action, Arkin eventually captures the Collector and locks him inside his own trunk, promising to torture and kill him so that he can never hurt anyone again.

With the future of The Collector franchise hanging up in the air, it's understandable for devoted horror aficionados to be frustrated. The last movie, The Collection, ended with a thrilling cliffhanger, and fans have since been waiting for a third film to resolve the ending. But chances that The Collected will ever see the light of the day are distressingly bleak, as there is a lack of creative interest in making the movie. The only hope now for the franchise to see a proper conclusion is if the producers allow Dunstan and Melton to wrap up Arkin and his nemesis tale in some way, possibly as a podcast or TV movie. Otherwise, fans shouldn't hold out any hope for the continuation of the trilogy.

Next: 'The Collection' Review

Source: The Thing With Two Heads (via Movieweb)