Is A New Before Film On The Horizon? Ethan Hawke And Richard Linklater Spark Reunion Buzz

It is a good week to be an Ethan Hawke fan if you like your Hawke creepy, thoughtful, or both. He just popped back up from the grave in Black Phone 2 and already has ideas for a third one. But if you were hoping for another Before movie with Julie Delpy and Richard Linklater, Hawke sounds pretty set on leaving that trilogy intact. Meanwhile, he and Linklater have quietly teed up their ninth movie together, Blue Moon.

Black Phone 2 is a hit, and Hawke wants to go darker for part 3

Black Phone 2 scared up a strong $26.5 million at the box office over the weekend, with Hawke returning as the Grabber. Yes, returning from the dead. He loves playing in this genre sandbox and told Entertainment Weekly he is absolutely down for more.

'I would like to go to hell with the Grabber. That is what I would like to do. I would like to get to know him. That would be my dream for the third one, to let it be a character piece about what made him, who he is now, and how he is haunting other people’s dreams.'

So, if there is a Black Phone 3, expect something less cat-and-mouse and more character study of a nightmare man. Weird pitch, but also kind of perfect for Hawke.

Another Before movie? Hawke says the circle is complete

Variety asked Hawke the big question: it has been 12 years since Before Midnight — are we due? His take is basically: we did what we came to do. He points out that Before Sunrise starts with Jesse and Celine overhearing a mid-40s couple arguing on a train, and by Before Midnight, Jesse and Celine are that couple. In his words:

'The three films feel complete... In the third one, we have become that couple. The circle feels complete.'

He is not totally closing the door, but if they ever reunite, it might not be a 'Before' film at all. He even floated the idea of an 'After' series. The key for him is that he, Delpy, and Linklater would all need to be on the same page about what the next story says — something that could start with one phone call or email — and he joked that they do not want to outlive the audience for those movies.

Hawke + Linklater: Project No. 9 is Blue Moon

Regardless of the Before question, Hawke and Linklater have already re-teamed on Blue Moon, their ninth collaboration together. The timeline language around this one has been a little messy: Linklater said he, Hawke, and author Robert Kaplow have been developing the story for over a decade and are excited the moment finally arrived to make it, while Sony Pictures Classics said that almost a year ago Linklater, Hawke, and producer John Sloss brought them Kaplow’s script and, with cast and crew lined up and Linklater directing, the project was on the verge of production. Either way, they are back at it, with Linklater also producing alongside Mike Blizzard and John Sloss.

• Their team-up history: Before Sunrise, The Newton Boys, Waking Life, Tape, Before Sunset, Fast Food Nation, Before Midnight, Boyhood, and now Blue Moon.

So: Hawke is having fun in horror and wants to double down on it, the Before trilogy is probably staying a trilogy, and Blue Moon keeps the Hawke–Linklater partnership rolling. Hard to complain about that lineup.