Final Destination creator Jeffery Reddick confirmed this week that a sixth film was in the works before the COVID-19 pandemic, but it's not exactly a reboot. Suggestions from the writers back in March, hoping to calm fans who were afraid the original story would be erased like so many other rebooted franchises, were circling the idea of maintaining the Final Destination canon, but exploring a different area. Specifically, first responders were in the running to be targeted, a unique perspective that would no doubt re-contextualize the inevitable violence of the series.
Reddick, in between working on his directorial debut, Don't Look Back, has been advising the team behind Final Destination 6, evidently hoping to make the series fresh again in some way or another. There's no real timetable on the project, as the writing was still happening in March just before the pandemic hit. The plot details teased at the beginning of the year were really only preliminary. Seeing as how the series has grossed over $600 million in its time, the formula probably doesn't have to change too much, but Reddick himself seems to believe it should, especially since it's been almost 10 years since the last release.
"They were working on a new Final Destination but that got pushed back because of COVID,” Reddick told Bloody Disgusting in a recent interview. He confirmed that the new film will not be a pure reboot but is set in a different world from the original. Read the rest of his quote below:
“It’s always: if the formula’s not broken, don’t fix it. But my thing is that Death has so many designs in my brain that it could use. Like, we’re seeing one design with the Rube Goldberg kind of thing. But Death could get us in so many ways. In my original story, which was a little dark because I am a Nightmare on Elm Street fan, Death kind of toyed with them psychologically for some sin or some wrongdoing they did, and they ended up killing themselves. So, that was a little dark. I don’t think I would want to make that movie now, but I just think that Death—it would be fun to explore that world, almost like what we did with the second one. I want to expand on the mythology. If I came back, I would want to do something different.”
The original plot arc of Final Destination is something Reddick has shared before, but it's interesting to see how his ideas have changed. Much of the full interview revolves around Reddick's excitement that Hollywood is changing and that stories can finally change with it, so should he remain involved in his magnum opus franchise, he would want it to change as well. Such a potentially nihilistic concept isn't for him anymore, and he'd like to expand the world of Final Destination by exploring the concept of death. Interestingly enough, the original's director James Wong almost featured Death as a traditionally physical presence as opposed to an inevitable force of fate.
This opportunity for the next Final Destination to grow a little in the pandemic slowdown may be healthy, as it seems Reddick has some ideas he'd be happy to share with the creative team. Maybe they already have what they want, but it sounds like no matter the case, the Final Destination franchise will be taking a big step forward. In the meantime, Reddick will be working on an unannounced children's book adaptation and the Usagi Yojimbo sequel series for Netflix. Hopefully, more news on Final Destination 6's development will come sooner rather than later.
Source: Bloody Disgusting