André Øvredal has built a respectable career as a horror director since his 2010 breakout Troll Hunter. His 2016 follow-up, The Autopsy of Jane Doe, was an underappreciated gem. But it was his next film, 2019’s Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, that put him in the big leagues. All-around legend Guillermo del Toro produced and got a “story by” credit on Scary Stories (the final draft was credited to screenwriters Dan Hageman and Kevin Hageman), which automatically brought it more attention. Upon its release, the film was mostly well-received, though some critics noted that it wasn’t particularly scary. Still, nostalgia for the classic children’s books written by Alvin Schwartz and illustrated by Stephen Gammell on which the film is based, coupled with its potential and del Toro’s clear passion for the subject matter, made it an obvious candidate for a sequel. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark 2 was announced in 2020, and by 2023, Øvredal said the script was written and actively being revised. Since then, though, there haven’t been any more updates—at least, not on the creative side. In the time since Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark‘s release, two of the production companies behind the movie, CBS Films and eOne, have shut down. Now, Øvredal says that has created a rights issue that has been difficult to navigate. He told /Film: