Potential ‘They Live’ Sequel Teased by John Carpenter

Filmmaker John Carpenter has taken a hiatus from playing video games to do some promotion for the new Halloween movie. As is usually the case when Carpenter does interviews, questions about his old movies – including the possibility of remakes and sequels – have sprung up. One such question resulted in Carpenter teasing a possible They Live sequel. Is a long-awaited follow-up to the 1988 film on the horizon, or is Mr. Carpenter just having a laugh at our expense?

They Live may have been intended on a commentary on Reaganomics and the 1980s, but its messages still ring true today (unfortunately). While I’m against remakes of John Carpenter’s work (only John Carpenter can make a John Carpenter movie, sorry), a modern-day follow-up film set in the world of They Live would work well. And according to Carpenter himself, that might just be what we’re getting

Speaking with Den of Geek, the filmmaker first talked about a potential remake which seems to be dead now. Matt Reeves, director of two of the rebooted Planet of the Apes movies and the upcoming Batman film, was set to direct. “There was a feature film. It was a feature film called Resistance, written by, oh, the guy who did the Apes movies. Matt Reeves. But then he moved on,” Carpenter said.

But when the interviewer asked Carpenter how he would approach a modern-day They Live himself, the filmmaker provided this tantalizing answer:

“Well, I’m not gonna tell you about that, because it might be closer to reality than you think.”

Carpenter also added: “The sequel is, well, we’ll see. We’ll just have to see.”

So what’s going on here? Is a sequel to They Live really in development, or is Carpenter just playing coy? It’s impossible to say, but this isn’t the first time in recent weeks the filmmaker teased a project that would follow-up one of his films. In a separate interview, the director teased a potential Prince of Darkness TV series for Shudder, based on his 1987 movie. In this new interview, Carpenter re-confirmed the existence of that project, saying: “It’s not a lie, but it’s not ready to go yet, so rather than discuss it, I think I won’t.”

If Carpenter was being honest about the Prince of Darkness show, it stands to reason he’s not messing around regarding the potential They Live follow-up, whatever it may be.

In the original They Live, a homeless drifter (played by the late Roddy Piper) stumbles upon sunglasses that have the power to reveal the “real world” underneath the world as we see it. A world where ghoulish aliens are running the show, driving us to consume, reproduce and live subdued lives. What follows is a film loaded with satirical humor, social commentary, and one of the best fight scenes of all time. If there really is a follow-up film in the works, and Carpenter is involved in some capacity, I’m all for it.