The purge Creator James DeMonaco has commented on the status of the sixth movie in the action/horror franchise.
The purge Creator James DeMonaco has commented on the status of the sixth movie in the action/horror franchise.
During an interview with The playlist, DeMonaco reiterated that he has completed the script for The Purge 6 and that Frank Grillo’s Leo Barnes will be returning in the film. However, he also revealed that the film is currently in limbo due to concerns at Universal Pictures over its budget.
“I wrote the screenplay. Universal saw it,” DeMonaco said. “There are budget concerns, but it definitely represents a broken America… The America I present in Purge 6 is a country where we are all divided by ideology and sexual preferences. So the states are divided in different ways.”
The filmmaker elaborated, “It’s written, it’s in (Universal’s) hands. I think they’re afraid of the budget. But my thing was, if I came back and directed a sixth film, it would be something bigger and something more epic, with this new America that I want to represent and bring back (Frank Grillo’s) character. So it’s kind of in limbo.”
The Purge turns 10 this year
Written and directed by DeMonaco, The Purge originally hit theaters in 2013. The film is set in a world where every year in the United States there is an event where all crimes are legal for twelve hours. DeMonaco returned to write and direct two sequels, The Purge: Anarchy and The Purge: Election Year, which were released in 2014 and 2016, respectively. In Anarchy and Election Year, Grillo’s Leo Barnes was the main protagonist.
2018 released The First Purge, written by DeMonaco and directed by Gerard McMurray. As the title suggests, The First Purge is a prequel set before the events of the original 2013 film. Election year 2016 finally got a direct sequel in the form of The Forever Purge. Written by DeMonaco and directed by Everardo Gout, The Forever Purge will be released in 2021 as the fifth and reportedly final feature film in the series.
However, in addition to the planned sixth film, a two-season television adaptation simply titled The Purge aired on the USA Network in 2018-2019.