Coulrophobics beware, because Killer Klowns from Outer Space 2 might be coming to Netflix.
The 1988 movie will be well known to VHS fans of a certain era and is about an attack on Earth by evil aliens who look like circus clowns and intend to farm humans for food. Upon its original release, it was well received and has gone on to become a low key horror classic.
Ever since its debut, there’ve been rumblings of a sequel, with the directors just waiting for the green light to go ahead. Back in 2018, there were signs that Syfy had picked up the property for a new project, but nothing ever came of it. Now, Stephen Chiodo has given an interview and revealed that they’re in talks with Netflix about a follow-up.
“We are talking to them. We’re talking all the time. Get this: we’ve been trying to do a sequel since we made the film and fans get angry with us. We don’t mention it too much, because they get angry. They say, ‘Oh, what’s the matter with you guys?’ But we’re trying. The business is just a bear, moves at a glacial pace.
There’s interest, and it wanes and flows. You get some executives who really want to do it, then, all of a sudden, musical chairs. They’re out, a new regime is in, and they don’t get it. We’ll see how Alien Xmas does with the Netflix people. We’ll see if they can embrace our sensibility. We have tons of ideas to really carry that through. I’m amazed that it has stood the test of time, that it’s multi-generational now. Parents who liked it show it to their kids. The kids like it. They show it to their friends. They get married, and they have kids. I am floored that it has lasted as long as it has. So there’ll be hopefully something in the future.”
The Alien Xmas project Chiodo refers to is his new Netflix stop motion animated movie about a mischievous alien who tries to steal Earth’s gravity during the holiday season. The project has been spearheaded by The Mandalorian‘s Jon Favreau, who collaborated with the Chiodo brothers on Elf, and was released on the streaming service earlier this week.
If it goes down well, you have to imagine that Netflix may seriously consider a Killer Klowns sequel. Chiodo said that fans can also help in getting the project moving, especially as MGM currently hold the rights.
“Look, MGM controls Killer Klowns. If [fans] write MGM and say, ‘Where’s our sequel? Where’s that property?’ There’s so many ways they can exploit this thing. It’s really the fan base. The fan base has to be more vocal to MGM more than us, because they control it. But I’m just so happy. That was a project that, we just wanted to make a film that we loved. Again, Forbidden Planet, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, all the films that we loved is thrown into that. And I’m really pleased that people responded to it.”
Honestly, this seems like a no-brainer to me. A new Killer Klowns From Outer Space movie wouldn’t need an enormous budget, the IT films proved that there’s an appetite for evil clowns and we’re right in the middle of a new golden age of horror. C’mon Netflix, make it happen.