6 Sequels Set Up By Black Phone 2's Ending

The following contains spoilers for Black Phone 2Black Phone 2 is a self-contained story that expands the setting in clever ways, laying the groundwork for several types of potential sequels. Black Phone 2 revisits Finny and Gwen four years after the events of the first film, delving into how they respond to the lingering trauma of the Grabber — and a renewed attack by the now supernatural threat.

Black Phone 2's ending sees the Grabber defeated once again, with the implication being that his power will now wane. However, fans and critics alike have already been speculating about the possible direction a third Black Phone film could take. Here are six possible approaches to the sequel, including one that's been supported by one of the film's stars.

6 Black Phone 3 Could Pit The Grabber Against New Teens

One path forward for a potential Black Phone 3 would be to bring back the Grabber after his icy imprisonment at the conclusion of Black Phone 2 and set him against a new cast of unsuspecting teens. Black Phone 2 ended with Gwen and Finny not just defeating the Grabber, but overcoming the trauma he left on them.

Black Phone 3 could easily bring the Grabber back now that he's a supernatural force instead of flesh and blood. This could cement his evolution into this generation's Freddy Krueger, especially if he continues to haunt teens who come to the Alpine Lake Camp. The camp setting is a perfect excuse to introduce new characters for the killer to bedevil.

This could be the key to carrying on the series beyond Finny and Gwen, allowing the Grabber to become a more overarching threat instead of one specifically defined by his conflict with them. It could also allow Armando and Mustang to return as employees of the camp, shifting them more into the spotlight for future fights with the Grabber.

5 Black Phone 3 Could Follow The Grabber To Hell

Another potential way to bring the Grabber back from his frozen prison in Black Phone 2 would be to visit hell with the character. Black Phone 2 reveals that hell not only exists, but hollows out souls and unleashes them back onto the world. This is also notably the path that Ethan Hawke would take if he had his choice.

Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Hawke revealed that he would love to see the audience follow the Grabber in hell. Hawke explained that "I'd 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's haunting other people's dreams."

This approach would be the most interesting, shifting focus away from Finny and Gwen and instead delving into the twisted motivations of the Grabber. So much of the Grabber still remains a mystery after two films, so learning more about him, his motivations, and his origins would be an illuminating way to expand the original stories.

4 Black Phone 3 Could Expand Gwen's Supernatural Skills

After being established as a psychic in the first film, Black Phone 2 expands Gwen's abilities by making her a veritable dream warrior. Confronting the Grabber in a trippy dreamscape during the film's climax, Gwen showcases a great deal of potential and control in her abilities. Black Phone 3 could take things even further with Gwen, however.

As Gwen continues to hone her powers, she could become committed to helping more people by using her powers to solve mysteries or save lives. Gwen could find more people like her. The reveal that her mother shared her abilities suggests that these abilities don't just belong to one person, which could be a compelling source of drama and conflict.

There's also the chance that Gwen's powers might prove uncontrollable. While she was able to hone her powers for her fight with the Grabber, Gwen could become incapable of restraining her growing powers — or worse, be tempted to use them for selfish reasons. This could set up a more complex arc for Gwen than her so far soley heroic storyline.

3 Black Phone 3 Could Pit Finny And Gwen Against Other Threats

While Black Phone 2 keeps the focus very much on Finny, Gwen, and the Grabber's orbit, the casual reveals about the supernatural in the film lay the groundwork for more ambitious sequels. Other stories could introduce other demonic or holy forces, playing off the film's reveals about the existence of heaven and hell.

Black Phone 3 could send Finny and Gwen around the world to new locations, setting them up against other demons or ghosts who mean to do people harm. This could even be a source of conflict for the pair, with Gwen more eager to use their experience in the fight against evil compared to the more cautious Finny.

This could be a way to turn Black Phone into Blumhouse's answer to The Conjuring franchise, cementing Finny and Gwen as heroic figures for the modern horror genre. It could also extend the franchise potentially indefinitely, especially if each subsequent entry in the series worked as a stand-alone horror story with Gwen and Finny as the connective tissue.

2 Black Phone 3 Could Introduce Other Demonic Forces

Building off the potential of Finny and Gwen as supernatural investigators, Black Phone 3 could delve more into the specifics of hell and who allowed the Grabber to become what he is now. While Hawke's idea would keep the focus on the Grabber and his evolution, another possible direction could establish the formal rules of hell in this universe.

This could come across with either new vengeful spirits who seek to carry on their Earthly rampages or with demonic forces working behind the scenes to endanger people like Finny and Gwen. It's even possible that whatever forces unleashed the Grabber back onto the world has control over other spirits, giving them a limitless number of possible antagonists to unleash.

The demonic forces at play in Black Phone 2 may be unseen, but they could become far more prevalent in a proposed sequel. There's even a world where Gwen finds herself confronting a fellow psychic who has aligned themselves more with the demons and killers than the forces of good that Gwen and Finny come to represent.

1 Black Phone 3 Could Force Finny And Gwen's Future Families To Confront The Grabber

One other potential path forward for Black Phone 3 could utilize a time-skip, giving Finny and Gwen time to grow up a bit more before they return to the big screen. On top of giving the filmmakers more time to fully plot out the next chapter in the story, it also easily works within the rules of the universe.

Four years have passed between The Black Phone and Black Phone 2, but there's no reason Black Phone 3 couldn't extend that time gap. It could be an easy way to shuffle off older characters and bring in new ones, fitting into whatever future is designed for Finny and Gwen.

This could force Gwen and Finny to confront the Grabber while they're separated by the branching paths life takes someone on, whether that be college, work, or simply moving away. It could underscore the importance of their family bond by testing it in surprising ways.

A big enough time gap could even allow the Grabber to target their respective children, carrying on the character's role as a generational threat to Finny and Gwen's entire family. It would also add another dark layer to the revelation that the Grabber killed their mother, making his subsequent attacks on their own children all the scarier.

A prospective Black Phone 3 could bring the Grabber into the present day, translating the retro touches of Black Phone films into a more modern era. It would be a good way to cement the Grabber as a fixture in modern horror and could build on the action of Black Phone 2 by establishing a wide-open future for the franchise.