Jon Watts wants seven Clown movies - and he's already mapped them out
If you watched Clown and thought, "this could go even harder," Jon Watts (movies and tv series) is right there with you. The Spider-Man director says he and co-writer Christopher Ford (movies and tv series) have a full roadmap for a long-running Clown series - seven films, if they get the chance.
Why now? The 2014 film is getting a 4K Ultra HD release in Germany from Turbine Medien. And with that fresh spotlight, Watts told Variety he still sees "a lot of potential" in the cursed-clown premise he started with a prank trailer more than a decade ago.
Quick refresher: Clown follows a dad who puts on a vintage clown suit for his kid's birthday and slowly realizes it's not a costume - it's a curse that turns him into a killer. It stars Andy Powers (movies and tv series), Peter Stormare (movies and tv series), Laura Allen (movies and tv series), and Elizabeth Whitmere (movies and tv series). The movie found some international footing, but its U.S. release was delayed until 2016 and barely made a dent domestically. Tough break, considering it was shot in 2012 and premiered in 2014.
Watts looks back at that first film and sees what he'd change. He calls it more of a character study than a straight-up horror movie, and admits he wishes he'd "leaned into the horror a little bit more," especially in the kill sequences. His north star for a redo? "I'd love for it to be like Evil Dead 2," he said - same story, wilder execution.
As for sequels, he's not shy about the scale. "Ford and I have it all mapped out. We'd want to do seven of them," he said, pitching a long-haul franchise in the Leprechaun mold. The hook that keeps it fresh: anyone can put on the suit. That means new hosts, new stakes, and a built-in way to pass the curse along without breaking continuity.
There's also a note of guilt in there. Watts talks about how clowns used to be joyful before the culture turned, and he doesn't want to flatten that. He even teases room for a "good clown" in the seven-part plan. It's a small thing, but you can hear the filmmaker chewing on what scares us and why - and where the fun is without losing the heart.
Here's what this could mean. A clean 4K release can reset a film's reputation and test interest. Maybe it's just timing, but pairing that with new quotes about crazier kills and a mapped-out saga feels like a temperature check. If the demand's there, rights and financing conversations get easier.
And yes, Watts has receipts. After Clown, he made Cop Car and then that three-film run with Spider-Man. He was briefly attached to Fantastic Four before stepping back from superheroes to make the action comedy Wolfs. On TV, he's touched The Old Man (movies and tv series) and Star Wars: Skeleton Crew. He's also back producing horror with Final Destination: Bloodlines, with another sequel on deck.
Why it matters for horror and genre newsrooms
- There's a credible path to a mid-budget, mask-based franchise with flexible casting - "anyone can put on the suit" is sequel-proofing 101.
- The tone pivot (toward Evil Dead 2 energy) could reframe Clown for audiences who found the first film too dour.
- A German 4K can prime collectors and streamers ahead of potential new development, even without a U.S. re-release date.
Would you run at least one of these seven? Or do you think Clown works better as a one-off curse story? If the 4K lands and the chatter keeps building, we might find out sooner than we think.
