In the era of legacy sequels, could the vampire movieSleepwalkersbe given a follow-up film? More than three decades after the release of the original film, that remains to be seen. But shouldSleepwalkers 2end up happening anytime soon, then Stephen King and Co. may want to give lead starBrian Krausea call, as he believes his return would be necessary — even if that means resurrecting his character.
Krause spoke about his work onSleepwalkersin a new interview withHorror Geek Life. Reflecting on 31 years ofSleepwalkers, Krause spoke about the film’s enduring popularity with horror movie fans. He says that at the time of production, he knewSleepwalkershad the benefit of having horror mastermind Stephen King attached, though he admits that he didn’t imagine the film would still have such a strong cult following in 2023. Looking back, Krause also feels lucky to have been involved with the film because of its solid cast and crew.
As Krause explains in the interview:
“Growing up, I wasn’t a big horror fan. It scares me easily, but we all knew Stephen King growing up, and that’s going to stick around. But it’s crazy to even think that we’re still watching it. It’s owed to Stephen King and Mick Garris, who’s gone on to become such a master in the last 30 years, and the countless, endless projects his creativity has touched. So it’s no wonder that one of his first visions is still resonating with people. Jim Haynie, Mädchen Amick, Ron Perlman, Tobe Hooper, Ernie Lively, and everybody that was a part of it is, they were solid, solid people. Me being such a rookie at the time, how lucky am I to be mentioned in the same space as all those people?”
The HGL interview touched on comments previously made bySleepwalkersdirector Mick Garris about a potential sequel. While there’s nothing officially in the works, Krause says heneedsto return if any follow-up toSleepwalkersever happens.
“If [Sleepwalkers 2happens], they’d have to bring me back to life somehow. Maybe I’m not really dead. There has to be a way.”
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Stephen King’s Sleepwalkers: Part 2 Wasn’t Able to Get Studio Support
Sleepwalkerswas scripted by Stephen King, and the movie has the distinction of being the first movie written by the acclaimed author that wasn’t based on one of his novels. The movie tells the story of the last two survivors of a species of shapeshifting vampires who must feed on the life force of virgin women in order to stay alive. Along with the aforementioned names, the movie also includes cameos from Joe Dante, Clive Barker, and Mark Hamill.
In 2020, Mick Garris said on hisPost Mortempodcast with Joe Russo that there had actually been talk of doing aSleepwalkerssequel. Tabitha King, Stephen King’s wife, had actually written a treatment for a sequel that “involved a women’s basketball team somehow,” though not much else was revealed about the potetial plot. Garris said he didn’t personally get to read the treatment as the project failed to get the necessary studio attention to move forward. As Garris explained:
“I never read it, but King was very excited that Tabby came up with this. But it was a sequel that nobody at the studio gave a sh-t about. You know, they liked the money that Sleepwalkers made, but it was not a prestige release by any means, so they never even thought about Sleepwalkers after.”
If you want to revisitSleepwalkers, you can currently find the movie streaming for free onPluto TV. Meanwhile, you can also catch Brian Krause in his latest movie, the Western filmHomestead, which is also streaming for free over onTubi.
