Big reveals are par for the course at New York Comic Con this year. The annual fan convention dedicated to all things comics, graphic novels, anime, video games, cosplay, toys, movies, television, and, lately everybody’s favorite, manga, runs October 12-15. Opening day panels are already generating buzz, especially the “Exclusive First Look at The Strangers Trilogy,” which launches at 3 p.m. Eastern time.

Acclaimed director Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2, Cliffhanger, Exorcist: The Beginning) and producer Courtney Solomon (Cake, After franchise) are slated to discuss The Strangers, unpack the allure of the original 2008 film starring Liv Tyler and, best of all, provide an exclusive first-look from their new horror trilogy, which Lionsgate plans to release in 2024. Fans can expect the filmmakers to chat up the making of all three films during a Q&A, and surprise guests have been teased to appear.

The original film was directed and written by Bryan Bertino, who returned for the 2018 sequel, The Strangers: Prey at Night. The first outing was a gripping thriller — edgy with key jump scares. The second film? Not so much. It divided fans. The new trilogy, which has already been shot, stars Riverdale darling Madelaine Petsch. The film’s synopsis says that Petsch plays, “a young woman starting a new life with her boyfriend. Suddenly, she becomes the prey of a mysterious gang of masked strangers, who attack without warning or reason. What begins as a fight to stay alive becomes one woman’s journey of courage and cunning in this compelling horror series.”

Renny Harlin and Courtney Solomon shared more about the films, the exclusive first look at NYCC, and why this trilogy is bound to scare the hell out of audiences.

More Jump Scares? Yes Please.
Lionsgate

Renny Harlin and Courtney Solomon are apt storytellers. Harlin’s career truly took flight after A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master. Then came Die Hard 2, and well, things soared after that with Cliffhanger and other films and episodic television, including Burn Notice. Solomon found great footing as a filmmaker with his After franchise. The filmmakers were quick to point out that their Strangers trilogy is a dark, terrifying, and thriller. All the things horror fans love.

“The original Strangers was scary on a different level, and it wasn’t about a jump scare every four minutes,” Courtney Solomon noted. “If you look at the original, there’s three true jump scares. But the palpable tension that exists during the course of that entire film is really what makes it terrifying. Renny created more jump scares than the original for sure, but really it’s about watching this couple [in the film] go through the palpable tension of just how terrifying it really is with what happens to them.”

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He’s quick to point out the new trilogy is a “reboot,” and told in three distinctly original chapters. He added that there are certain homages to the original.

I would say it’s not about being scared out of your wits, as it is being completely terrified and affected in a much more guttural way by the time you walked out of the movie.

Why Renny Harlin Rebooted The Strangers
Lionsgate

Renny Harlin jumped on the board the project because he was a big fan of the original film. But something captured his attention in the reboot possibility. “The original film was really one of my favorite horror films,” he said, adding:

“In the whole development of these movies, our goal has been to make sure that we give the fans something that they loved about the original film — the randomness of the violence, the mystery of it all. To me, it’s almost like if the original movie was your favorite meal in your favorite restaurant, we wanted to make sure that we go back to that same restaurant, with the same food, but we add our own spices to it and take it further.”

“But what made this so fascinating to me when Courtney sent me the script, which, by the way was 280 pages long, was that yes, we are making the remake of the original film because we love that film, and we think that there’s a whole new generation who should experience it, but we are going much deeper,” he added. “We are exploring those questions that were left unanswered in the original — the why of it, and the reason behind it, and all the mystery.”

Related: What Made The Strangers Such a Terrifying Film?

He went on to say that what made the original film so captivating was the randomness of the violence and that it was something most people could relate to. “It could happen to any of us, anytime in this dangerous world. But these three movies, they’re not sequels in a traditional sense. We are telling one full five-hour story but in three chapters. Literally, the second movie starts five minutes after the first movie ends. So, this is an homage to the original movie and a deeper study of the central character, which is Madelaine Petsch’s character.”

It Works Because of Madelaine Petsch
Lionsgate

The Strangers trilogy is co-written by Alan R. Cohen (The Freak Brothers, Due Date), Alan Freedland (King of the Hill, Due Date) and Amber Loutfi. In addition to Madelaine Petsch, it costars Froy Guitierrez (Cruel Summer, Teen Wolf) and Gabriel Basso (The Night Agent, Super 8). Harlin and Solomon say the films work thanks, in part, because of Madelaine Petsch’s commanding performance.

“It’s all about Madelaine,” Harlin said. “Courtney and I interviewed dozens of actors for this, and we knew that the female character being central to the whole Strangers universe had big boots to fill, because Liv Tyler did an amazing job in the original film, and you can’t really replace her. “After interviewing thousands of actors, Courtney and I were on a Zoom call with Madelaine because she was in Canada shooting a Christmas movie. There was Christmas gear and reindeers galloping behind her, and we spoke to her, and it was so bizarre but after five minutes of talking to her, we looked at each other, and we were just starting to get very excited because she was really prepared for the call, and she just took over. She was interviewing us.”

Harlin praised the Riverdale star’s intellect, curiosity, charm, sense of humor, and her talent. “We already knew that about her, and, of course, her breathtaking beauty, but after that call, we knew we found her,” he added. “She’s not the replacement of Liv Tyler. She’s completely in her own universe and in her own class. Playing this character was so demanding, and I honestly can’t even imagine any other actor who could do this, and as we were making the movie, we said to each other, we won the lottery.”

The Strangers trilogy will launch in 2024. Learn more about and tune into “The Strangers Trilogy” panel at New York Comic Con here.

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