Amazingly enough, the Wrong Turn franchise turned 20 recently, with the first film originally hitting theaters in May 2003. Written by Alan B. McElroy, the series of films about a group of killer cannibals in the woods managed to be remarkably enduring, with five (count ‘em, five!) direct-to-video sequels arriving in the years that followed, including Wrong Turn 2: Dead End, which served as the directorial debut of one Mr. Joe Lynch. Well, if McElroy gets his way, the franchise will continue on with a couple more entries.
Recently, Entertainment Weekly did a deep dive into the making of Wrong Turn for its 20th anniversary. At one point, McElroy addresses a possible continuation of 2021’s Wrong Turn – aka Wrong Turn: The Foundation – which completely rebooted the series. The writer still hopes to see not one, but two more sequels to that film, completing the trilogy he had originally envisioned.
“I had planned two more films, so there would be a trilogy, based around this idea of the Foundation and these characters. I’d love to finish it and see it all come out the way I wanted.”
2003’s Wrong Turn was a modest success theatrically but exploded on home video. As a result, the sequels all went direct-to-DVD and were made for much lower budgets. The franchise also includes Wrong Turn 3: Left for Dead, Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings, Wrong Turn 5: Bloodlines and Wrong Turn 6: Last Resort. Eventually, they ran out of gas and they ended, for a time, after the sixth entry in 2014. But then, McElroy had the idea to reinvent the series, focusing on a group of protective isolationists, rather than cannibals. It worked quite well for critics and audiences – those who saw it, anyway.
2021’s Wrong Turn got kind of a raw deal, in no small part thanks to the circumstances surrounding its release. The film, directed by Mike P. Nelson, debuted as the pandemic was still raging with a very limited theatrical rollout before making its way to VOD. It’s hard to know what might have happened if the reboot had a more favorable release.
Regardless, the reception to the more grounded, dark reboot was quite good (particularly compared to the later ultra-low-budget, direct-to-video sequels). And, since horror can be made on the cheap, there’s undoubtedly value in the brand. So who knows? Another sequel/reboot/requel doesn’t seem all that crazy.
For those who may have missed it, 2021’s Wrong Turn is currently streaming on Paramount+.
