From ComingSoon.net ...

Don't Breathe 2 Trailer and Filmmaker Footage Presentation
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ComingSoon.net was invited to watch early footage and the new
trailer, which you can check out below, for Don't Breathe 2
at an in-person screening with the filmmakers.

Trailer: (2mins 58secs)
<https://youtu.be/gRbG2tjHYCA>

It's been five years since the highly unsettling gore and
suspense fest of Don't Breathe and now the filmmakers behind
the Screen Gems hit thriller are back. Swapping roles this
time around, Fede Alvarez and Rodo Sayagues co-wrote the
sequel with Sayagues taking the helm this time.

The duo behind the reimagined Evil Dead (2013) reunites to
continue their own imprint on the horror genre. During the
panel where they introduced the preview footage, they shared
that the idea for the first film was born out of traveling
out of Comic-Con after doing press for the home release. They
plotted the story for their sophomore debut on that fateful
long drive, which proved to have legs far surpassing their
work on Evil Dead. "Back then we thought it had no chance,"
Alvarez described, feeling as if they stood in the shadow of
their own Evil Dead. "It's an original, has no brand. It
opened bigger than Evil Dead. We are super proud and happy
that it happened. Right away we thought: we're going to make
another one."

The sequel picks up on Norman Nordstrom (Stephen Lang) living
with an 11-year-old Phoenix (Madelyn Grace) as part of a
twisted family he's recreated eight years after the first
film's events. The new family is attacked by stronger and
much more capable intruders who set their sights on the kid.
In the first clip we saw, the intruders lure Norman out of
the house through the mysterious disappearance of his trusty
dog and break in to get the girl. Grace jumps into action
aware of the danger she is in but it's unclear if she is aware
of the danger her father figure poses. We're excited to see
where her character goes in the film as she's poised as the
film's final girl. From the clip we saw, she's like a horror
film Kevin McCallister if trained by an evil Old Man Marley.
In the additional clip, we see Lang slip back into the cold
and calculating blind military vet's training to disarm his
attackers. Particularly vicious was a scene where Norman seals
an assailant's mouth and nose with industrial super glue.
Their partner comes in and well...operates with the available
tools to keep hunting the hunter.

Tonally and visually the change of hands is seamless. Sayagues
was encouraged by Alvarez to do it, he had stuck with his
writing partner all through the editing of the first one and
so he offered him the opportunity. Sayagues shared he was on
his way to a trip when it came up, "Funny enough I was going
to Vegas that weekend with a friend. So I said let me go
meditate on this. Where (else) can you go looking for clarity
to make a decision like that?" he laughed. Fede stayed on to
advise and the team who worked on the first film returned
under Sayagues.

The film explores Norman as a father and gives him a more
visible protagonist role alongside Phoenix. Alvarez clarifies,
however, "Protagonist, yes but never an antihero. It's tricky
how to navigate a character like this. Really hard to forgive
him and we don't really. This is about coming to terms with
who he really is. You might f-ing hate the guy at the end."

While we only saw about a quarter of the opening and the brutal
trailer that just dropped that showed more locations, the duo
assured that the story changes beyond the scope of another home
invasion with tables turned. Inspired by Hitchcock and the use
of sound to build tension and suspense, they say fans should
expect real stakes amped up by the quiet and muted tracks that
don't depend on a traditional score. A tool that comes back
from the first film to get audiences to pay attention.

Don't Breathe 2 is a Screen Gems and Stage 6 Films presentation
associated with Ghost House Pictures and a Bad Hombre
production. The film stars Stephen Lang, Brendan Sexton III,
and Madelyn Grace. Directed by Rodo Sayagues. Written by Fede
Alvarez & Rodo Sayagues. Based on Characters Created by Fede
Alvarez & Rodo Sayagues. Produced by Fede Alvarez, Sam Raimi,
and Rob Tapert.

The film will be released in theaters nationwide on August 13,
2021, and is Rated R.

<https://www.comingsoon.net/horror/trailers/1180666-dont-breathe-2-trailer-and-filmmaker-footage-presentation>