Bloodlines' Hits Theaters, Let's Track Death's Long, 14-Year Journey Back to Theaters -

It’s hard to believe, but it has been a quarter of a century since Final Destination was released into theaters, shifting the millennium horror landscape. You can even argue that the franchise that followed helped save various horror subgenres, as it traversed through the post-Scream slasher era and the post-9/11 splatter era. Final Destination‘s premise, about death coming for those who escaped it, killing everyone until not a single soul is left, is on paper as dark as it gets, but the over-the-top deaths made it fun and cathartic. Our fear of death somehow becomes easier to take when watching a gymnast’s body snap in half during a routine. Still, as popular as the Final Destination movies were, with five movies coming out in 11 years, this year’s Final Destination: Bloodlines will be the first sequel to come out since 2011. So, just where has death been?

Tony Todd Was Told Two Sequels Were Being Filmed Back to Back

In a 2011 interview to promote Final Destination 5, Tony Todd was asked what the chances were of there being more sequels. He said:

“Thumbs up! Thumbs way up. They expanded my part, and the producer told me as we were leaving Vancouver that if it opens at Number 1 – which statistically it has – they’re going to shoot the next two simultaneously.”

Alas, it didn’t open at number one. The fifth film opened in third place in the middle of August, behind Rise of the Planet of the Apes and The Help, but it did make a healthy $18.5 million, leading to a domestic total of $42.5 million and an impressive $157.8 million worldwide. Final Destination 5 was seen as a return to form (try to get over that shocking ending) after a disappointing fourth film, The Final Destination, but despite being a much better movie, the 2009 outing made over $25 million more both domestically and worldwide.

The quality of the franchise wasn’t suffering, but if you look at the numbers, fan interest was starting to decline. That happens when you make five movies in just a little more than a decade. The box office receipts were still healthy enough for another quick sequel, but two back-to-back may have been pushing it. It was time to give death a bit of a break.

A Final Destination Movie Was Going to Be Told From the POV of First Responders

It took all the way up to 2019 for there to be any significant development on Final Destination 6. That came with the news from The Hollywood Reporter that Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan had been hired to write the sixth film, which would be “a re-imagining of the franchise.” This was intriguing, as the duo had also been the writers of several Saw movies and The Collector.

With Final Destination 6 going to be a reboot, Dread Central asked Devon Sawa, the star of the original movie, if he would be interested in returning.

“Yes, I would. If you were in Vegas right now laying some big money down, I wouldn’t put it on me coming back, but of course. I’ve watched every one of those movies since they’ve come out. But I think the ship has sailed. I’m getting a little older. I think they’re gonna be going with a new, young cast, but yea man. I would do it. I would do it in a heartbeat.”

It’s for the best that this never was. As great of a career as Sawa has gone on to have, such as his starring role in the Chucky series, it was too early to reboot a franchise whose premise didn’t require one.

Final Destination’s Genius Villain Choice Has Always Had a Hidden Downside — but Maybe it’s Time to Fix It

What does death look like?

What may have been more appealing is the direction the new film wanted to go. In a 2020 interview with Digital Spy, series producer Craig Perry said they were thinking about having the movie told from the perspective of first responders like EMTS, police, and firefighters. He added, “These people deal with death on the front lines every day, and make choices that can cause people to live or die.” That certainly would have been a clever way to shake things up, but it never happened, and it’s not the direction Final Destination: Bloodlines is taking.

There Were Plans to Release a Final Destination Movie on HBO MAX

A man hangs from a chain connected to his nose ring in 'Final Destination: Bloodlines' — Image via New Line Cinema

As smart of an approach as that could have been, Final Destination almost did something incredibly dumb. In 2022, Final Destination 6 finally started making some real progress, with Lori Evans Taylor and Guy Busick announced as writers of the script, which would be based on a story from Jon Watts, who was just coming off the stellar success of Spider-Man: No Way Home. As popular as that movie was, though, Deadline‘s report had one negative update about Final Destination 6 with the sentence “The sixthquel is destined for HBO Max.”

Imagine such a big horror franchise like Final Destination finally coming back, only to be dumped on a streaming site. That would have been so disappointing and disrespectful to what came before. The films are all about big death scenes, which are so much more fun and scary if seen on the big screen, where you can scream with an audience. Put it on Max and it’s forgotten in a week.

On May 16, after a 14-year wait, Final Destination: Bloodlines will finally be here, with the team put in place in 2022, and Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein directing. You won’t be able to watch it on your couch, though. You’re going to have to go to the theater and see all the bloody mayhem on the biggest screen possible, just like death intended.