2016 horror film Lights Out was a big hit, and a sequel went into development quickly, only for the project to go completely quiet ever since. In the world of movies, feature films are generally king, with most people not really giving much thought to short films outside of using them as a brief bit of entertainment online. Yet, anyone who thinks short films aren't important needs to have a conversation with director David F. Sandberg, who owes his currently healthy Hollywood career to a short he made that went viral.
Lights Out, the short film, was released online in late 2013, and was directed, produced, written, composed, and shot by Sandberg. Starring in the short was actress Lotta Losten, who also happened to be Sandberg's wife. This was truly Sandberg's baby from start to finish, and once it crossed the million view mark on YouTube, Hollywood took notice. Warner Bros. hired Sandberg to direct a feature adaptation of his Lights Out short, which arrived in summer 2016, and proved immensely profitable at the box office.
Couple Lights Out's box office take - $148 million worldwide on a budget of only $4.9 million - with great reviews from critics, and it becomes a bit baffling as to why Lights Out 2 still hasn't materialized. While there's no official reason for the delay, we have some ideas.
Why Lights Out 2 Still Hasn't Happened
A mere few days after Lights Out took summer 2016 by storm in theaters, Warner Bros. and its subsidiary New Line Cinema officially greenlit a sequel, with David F. Sandberg back as director and Eric Heisserer returning to write Lights Out 2's script. While Warner Bros. had already enlisted Sandberg to direct Annabelle: Creation at that point, there was no reason to believe Lights Out 2 wouldn't be his next project. Fans got excited, only to be responded to with deafening silence. No updates on the sequel have been offered since 2016, and in a few months, it'll have been four years since it was greenlit.
The most likely reason Lights Out 2 hasn't happened is that Sandberg ended up getting wrapped up in the all-encompassing world of superhero cinema. After Annabelle: Creation proved to be another big hit, Warner Bros. signed Sandberg up to direct the DCEU film Shazam!, which has continued his winning relationship with the studio. Helming a DC movie is a big job, and with Sandberg onboard to helm Shazam! 2, set for release in 2022, there's no real reason to expect him to have the free time to direct Lights Out 2 anytime soon. Outside of Sandberg's schedule, it's also possible Lights Out 2's script hit a creative snag. After all, the first film seemed to conclusively kill off the monster, called Diana. While Lights Out 2 is still considered to be in development, fans probably shouldn't hold their breath waiting for it.