Ethan Hawke Wants to Complete The Black Phone Trilogy

Ethan Hawke has been hinting at a return to The Black Phone universe, and fans are listening. After two hits that turned a masked villain called The Grabber into one of Hawke's most chilling and talked-about roles, the actor says he's open to finishing the story — but only if director Scott Derrickson brings the right idea to the table.

Short sentences. Big promise. It isn't about cash. Hawke stresses that any move toward a third film must begin with a strong creative spark rather than a studio memo. That instinct feels refreshingly old-school: make the story first, then chase the box office.

The numbers, though, are hard to ignore. The original Black Phone (2022) turned a modest budget into roughly $161 million worldwide. Its follow-up in 2025 added another $132 million to the franchise tally, proving there's an audience hungry for more scares. Yet commercial success, Hawke insists, shouldn't be the engine of what comes next.

So what could Black Phone 3 look like? The first two films largely lived inside the terror of the victims — boys snatched by a masked predator, the frantic attempts to escape, the dread that creeps between shadows. Hawke has floated a different path: a character-centered turn inward, a descent into The Grabber's past and psyche. Imagine a horror film that reads like a case study. Or a nightmare with motives. It's a risky pivot. But risk can be interesting.

"If he has an idea that excites him, I'm sure everyone will get behind it," Hawke told The Hollywood Reporter, signaling faith in Derrickson's instincts. His comment is less a tease and more of a conditional promise: return, yes — but only to a story that earns the trip.

Hawke isn't new to genre reinvention. His collaborations with Derrickson go back to Sinister and a detour into The Purge, and The Black Phone added a fresh shade to his filmography that ranges from Dead Poets Society to Gattaca. Playing The Grabber has allowed him to explore a darker register, and he'd like the chance to push that further. How deep? Deep enough to trace what made this figure into a monster, and to give the audience a clearer sense of who — or what — he is when the mask comes off.

If the third film becomes a character piece about The Grabber, it could shift the franchise from scare-driven set pieces to unsettling portraiture.

Those are big ifs. The Black Phone franchise is based on a Joe Hill short story and the first film assembled a notable cast — Mason Thames, Madeleine McGraw, Jeremy Davies, James Ransone — while pulling strong critical support. The first installment sits at an 81% critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes, and Hawke's performance has consistently earned praise as one of the films' most compelling elements.

Practically speaking, nothing about Black Phone 3 is locked in. There's no production green light and no release date. But Hollywood listens to momentum, and two commercially successful films plus a leading actor willing to dig deeper is fertile ground. Fans will argue for more scares. Hawke hints at something stranger: a film that upends expectations by centering the villain's interior life rather than merely staging another string of abductions.

What would you prefer — another lean, terrifying thriller focused on victims, or a slower, darker study of the man behind the mask? Either path raises stakes. For now, the ball is in Derrickson's court. If he scripts the kind of idea that makes Hawke want to wear that mask again, The Grabber may yet get the trilogy Hawke imagines. Until then, the phone stays silent.