Originally a cheap one-off, 2012’s “The Purge” has since spawned a horror franchise with four follow-up films released, a TV series, and a sixth overall film on the way.
The second and third films, “The Purge: Anarchy” and “The Purge: Election Year”, saw actor Frank Grillo and his character Leo Barnes serving as the lead.
In a new interview with Empire Magazine (via Screen Rant, 57-year-old Grillo spoke about the status of a sixth film which he and franchise creator James DeMonaco are currently trying to get off the ground at Universal, but there’s no production timeline in place yet.
He does confirm that DeMonaco, who helmed the first (and best-reviewed) three films but stepped back to only write the fourth and fifth, wants to return as helmer for the sixth and final film, which will put the focus back on Grillo’s character:
“James DeMonaco, changed my life. [I’ve] got one more left. James has the script. It focuses on the Leo Barnes character, and he wants to direct it. We’re working with Universal to see if we can pull this off before I’m in the old folks’ home.”
Last year’s fifth film, “The Forever Purge”, takes place eight years after ‘Election Year’ which saw “The Purge” abolished. With the ‘New Founding Fathers of America’ regaining control of the U.S. government, they reinstated the Purge.
The trouble is racist sentiment has surged in the intervening years, so when the event begins, it doesn’t stop as an insurrectionist movement continues committing crimes and murders nationwide until the whole country is aflame.
The sixth film will take place years later with America still divided and the federal government likely still in shambles.