11-Year-Old Horror Movie Finally Gets Major Sequel Casting & Timeline Update

Published Jun 9, 2026, 7:42 PM EDT

Adam Bentz is a senior news writer at ScreenRant, where he has authored nearly 5,000 articles, including features and lists. He studied creative writing and English with a concentration in screenwriting at Southern New Hampshire University and interned as a writer/journalist for The Borgen Project, an influential organization that fights global poverty.

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Now, after years of waiting, They Follow has finally made significant progress, with Naomi Ackie in final negotiations to join returning star Maika Monroe in the sequel, according to Deadline. Ackie's role is unknown, as the sequel's plot beyond it being set 10 years after the first movie. They Follow is targeting a summer start for production.

Written and directed by David Robert Mitchell, It Follows stars Maika Monroe as a college student who, after a sexual encounter, becomes haunted by a relentless supernatural force. The entity shifts between different human forms as it slowly pursues her and her friends around Detroit, forcing her to confront the curse she can only escape by passing it on to someone else through sex.

The cast also includes Keir Gilchrist, Olivia Luccardi, Lili Sepe, Daniel Zovatto, Jake Weary, Bailey Spry, Debbie Williams, and Ruby Harris appearing in supporting roles. Featured as forms of the entity are Ingrid Mortimer, Alexyss Spradlin, Mike Lanier, Don Hails, Leisa Pulido, and Ele Bardha.

Premiered at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, It Follows received rave reviews, resulting in a 95% Rotten Tomatoes score, with critics calling it smart, original, and deeply unsettling – standing out as a rare modern horror film that operates on multiple levels and leaves a lasting chill. It also has a 66% audience score.

At the box office, It Follows grossed $23.3 million worldwide against its small $1.3 million budget. Widely considered one of the best horror movies of the 2010s, it helped launch Maika Monroe's rise to stardom and established David Robert Mitchell as a studio director, with The End of Oak Street releasing in theaters on August 14.

Image via MGM

One of the industry's most in-demand actresses, Naomi Ackie recently appeared in a supporting role in A24's Sorry, Baby, written and directed by Eva Victor. She has also been seen in Bong Joon Ho's Mickey 17, Chris Columbus' The Thursday Murder Club, Zoë Kravitz's acclaimed directorial debut Blink Twice, and currently stars in Boots Riley's I Love Boosters. Up next, she will appear in the DC body horror film Clayface, releasing on October 23.

Director David Robert Mitchell

Writers David Robert Mitchell

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