With an innovative premise, Smile, the adaptation of Parker Finn's short film Laura Hasn't Slept, managed to position itself as one of the biggest surprises in horror cinema in 2022. Initially developed with a budget of $17 million and intended as a production that would debut on the Paramount+ screen, initial screenings allowed it to make the leap to theaters and the warm reception from audiences made it a worldwide box office success.
This, in turn, secured the director a future contract with the studio and consolidated the possibility of a sequel. Now details are beginning to emerge regarding the plot of this second film. A year after the announcement of Smile 2, a first exclusive teaser was screened last week at CinemaCon , confirming the main character of this installment.
According to media reports, this teaser focused on the character played by Naomi Scott (Aladdin), a pop star whose glamorous world is about to turn into a nightmare. The footage showed the celebrity getting a scare when a man played by Lukas Gage (The White Lotus) bursts into her dressing room with a creepy smile. From then on, everything starts to fall apart around her.
Unfortunately, the clip is not ye available to the general public, but considering that the sequel will premiere this year, it is likely that the first official images will be out shortly.
Smile marked Finn's feature film directorial debut. The plot of the first film followed Rose, a therapist who receives a particularly exalted patient in her office. She tells her a story about an evil presence that manifests itself to her through a disturbing smile on the people around her.