Get Out (Again): As The Best Horror Of 2017, Will 'Get Out' Get A Sequel?

There's nothing like a bit of casual slavery to remind us just how relevant racial matters can be, while even the realms of horror films and slashers are no exception to the rules. Knocking at the door of 2017's white privilege comes #JordanPeele's Get Out, an eerie Stepford Wives for us millennials. The world of the Armitage Estate brings #Universal's film to life in Peele's directorial debut, which will surely kick start an illustrious film career for the 38-year-old.

Part horror, part subtle comedy, the racial commentary is winning over critics and reviewers alike. Scoring 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, and being heralded as one of the best #horror films in years, #GetOut has filled pretty big boots off the back of the stellar horror year that was 2016.

So, with rave reviews and horror-noms ahoy, can we expect the Armitage Estate to return for a second round and a sequel to Get Out?

Warning: Spoilers ahead for Get Out.

Deja View

The biggest case against Get Out having a sequel is that we all know what happens. Get Out's "big twist" was that the consciousness of the elderly in the town was transferred into the bodies of those younger, but as being black was the latest "in thing," they were being transferred into the bodies of the estate's servants. While it may have been a shocking twist, it was effectively the reverse of the plot from 2005's lackluster The Skeleton Key, which also never warranted a sequel. Thankfully, Get Out is faring much better than The Skeleton Key, but with the premise already revealed, do we really need to go back? The only way in which Get Out 2 would work, would be to explore the hypnosis element, or those who had escaped the estate in the minds of someone younger than them.

Then we have the characters (or lack thereof) that a sequel would face. A great sequel can usually be held up by the final character coming back to exact some revenge, or being pulled back into the action after a killer strikes again. Get Out 2 would be running slightly thin on characters from the first film. The entire Armitage clan of Dean, Missy, Jeremy, and Rose were offed toward the film's climax, while the only survivors of the massacre were Daniel Kaluuya's lead and Lil Rel Howery as his pal Rod. Kaluuya was superb in his role, but is "Chris" from Get Out really franchise material?

New To The Genre

Then we have the director himself. With this being Peele's directorial debut, there is of course no history to go off to predict whether there could be a sequel to Get Out; long-term directors like James Cameron have a history of sequels, but with Peele used to a life in front of the camera, we (as of yet) have no idea if he would even want to make a sequel to Get Out. His only comment on the issue would seemingly point to someone else taking over the reins:

"It's a possibility, there are several directions that could go. To be quite honest, artistically, I'm focused on many other ideas, so it's not a priority for me."

The landscape of horror is a lot different to the '80s boom of "let's see how many sequels we can milk this for." Last year saw critical acclaim for the likes of Hush, The Shallows, and Green Room, all of which seem to be standalone pictures. Similarly, Karyn Kusama's The Invitation had a big twist and the idea of the same event happening elsewhere, but still remains as a singular film. However, 2016 has offered up sequels (of sorts) with some of its other horror hits. David F. Sandberg's Lights Out has been greenlit for a sequel, and Fede Alvarez is said to be remaking other hit Don't Breathe in Tamil — so nothing is out of the realm of possibility.

With Peele not interested in a direct sequel to Get Out, the other way he could take the film would be to move into "Cloverfield" territory with his own anthology universe of horror films. Get Out could be referenced in one of Peele's future projects — a 2018 (or beyond) horror film where we hear reports of an incident where two black guys shot up an estate of wealthy white people could be one way to connect. Peele clearly has a knack for the horror comedy (emphasis on the loose aspect of the comedy), so perhaps he should focus his efforts elsewhere.

Just like 10 Cloverfield Lane's Dan Trachtenberg moved on to direct an episode of Charlie Brooker's horror-inspired Black Mirror, perhaps that is the next step for Peele. In fact, the meta hyper-reality of Get Out didn't seem too dissimilar to an episode of Black Mirror's modern anthology at all.

Updated: 02/03/17

Where Get Out may be a singular film, the Peeleverse definitely is not!

Peele has since teased that he is working on at least four other projects similar to Get Out, which we keep him in cinemas for the next 10 years:

"I have four other social thrillers that I want to unveil in the next decade...The best and scariest monsters in the world are human beings and what we are capable of especially when we get together...I've been working on these premises about these different social demons, these innately human monsters that are woven into the fabric of how we think and how we interact, and each one of my movies is going to be about a different one of these social demons."

In a world of racial slurs and social divides bigger than ever, Get Out is a well-timed and poignant horror film, however, as a continuing franchise, or even needing a sequel, perhaps we should "get out" — and stay out. However, we should keep our eyes "Peele'd" for his upcoming projects!