Upon its premiere at Sundance Film Festival last January, Sony Pictures’ and Stage 6 Films’ webcam thriller Searching proved to be a surprise hit, receiving rave reviews from critics for its subversion of the genre and after proving to be a large success at the box office, the studios have begun development on a sequel, according to Deadline.
RELATED: Searching Producer Developing 14 More ‘ScreenLife’ Movies
The first film, directed by Aneesh Chaganty on a script co-written by him and Sev Ohanian, was set entirely on smart phones and computer screens and followed a father (John Cho, Star Trek Beyond) as he desperately searches for his missing 16-year-old daughter Margot (Michelle La) with the help of a police detective (Debra Messing, Will & Grace), only for his own investigation in her life to reveal dark secrets that makes him realize he might not know his daughter as well as he thought he did.
After premiering at Sundance last year, it proved to be one of the most sought-after projects along with this year’s acclaimed dramedy The Farewell, with Sony acquiring the film for $5 million and shipped the film to theaters in August later that year, where it grossed over $75 million at the global box office on its small $1 million budget and receiving acclaim from critics and audiences alike, currently sitting at a 92% “Certified Fresh” approval rating based on 239 reviews from critics on review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes, as well as an 88% approval rating from audiences.
RELATED: Escape Room Sequel Begins Development at Sony
While a new plot and cast are currently being looked at, given the first film’s contained and concluded story, insiders are reporting that the creative team behind the first film are being courted by Sony and Stage 6 to return for the sequel.
