Summary
- Renfield's success in the streaming market will determine the likelihood of a sequel, despite defeating Dracula in the first film.
- While Renfield received mixed reviews, its unique comedy and aesthetic make it an enjoyable movie with the potential for a series.
- The possibility of a Renfield 2 is uncertain due to the film's box office failure, but the movie could find success through streaming and develop a cult following for a potential sequel.
Warning: Contains SPOILERS for RenfieldWhile Renfield (Nicholas Hoult) successfully defeats Dracula (Nicolas Cage) at the end of Renfield, it still teases a Renfield 2, but the likeliness of a sequel depends on the first movie's success. The 2023 movie follows Renfield breaking free from his former employer, and what follows is a feud that results in one bloodbath after another. There are a ton of hints of a much bigger monster universe along the way too. And while Renfield kills Dracula, the former familiar still has his superpower whenever he eats bugs, and he has a bucket of Dracula's blood just waiting to be used.
While Renfield has gotten mixed reviews, sitting at a "rotten" 58% on Rotten Tomatoes, that still means that more critics like it than dislike it. Plus, though it wasn't the box-office heavy hitter it perhaps could have been, it's still a huge audience pleaser. Between the comedy, the delightfully odd performances, and the vibrant aesthetic, there's a lot to enjoy about Renfield. And in that respect, it's the most promising start to a series than any other of the previous Universal monster movie of the 21st Century. However, while there are enough positive elements of the movie to clutch onto, that isn't necessarily enough for Universal to greenlight Renfield 2.
Renfield 2 Most Recent News
The most recent Renfield 2 news comes from Renfield director Chris McKay, who thinks that there could still be a sequel despite the first movie being a box office bomb. The director explained, "There are choices that we made to suggest that there's a world of vampire hunters out there. It would not be a huge leap to suggest that Van Helsing would [still] be out there." Van Helsing was killed very early on in Renfield, but just like Dracula, there's always an easy way to bring him back for Renfield 2. Renfield could even use Dracula's blood to bring Van Helsing back from the dead.
A movie's box office success usually dictates if a sequel will be greenlit by the studio. If a movie is a success, it'll often get a sequel greenlit immediately, but if a movie bombs, any future plans will likely be canceled. In that respect, Renfield 2 is unlikely, as Renfield has been a box office failure. The $65 million-budgeted Renfield made just $7.7 million in its opening weekend, which is a catastrophic result. Nevertheless, McKay is clearly still optimistic about the sequel happening, and he certainly set up a lot of ways in which the series can continue.
Is Renfield 2 Isn't Confirmed
Renfield 2 hasn't been confirmed, and this may be down to the box office performance of Renfield. The movie only made $26.7 million worldwide (via The Numbers), losing the studio tens of millions of dollars. When taking into account marketing costs, the loss could even have reached $100 million, and no studio would immediately greenlight a sequel to such a box office failure. However, thanks to streaming, just because a movie flops during its theatrical release doesn't mean it can't still be successful.
Some movies that bombed finally found their audiences on streaming, and the same thing could happen to Renfield. Renfield is available to stream on Peaco*ck, and the movie could potentially finally find its audience on the streaming service. Through being available on the service and positive word of mouth, Renfield could become a sleeper hit and maybe even a cult classic. That would give Universal enough reason to greenlight Renfield 2. There have been sequels to box office bombs in the past when those original movies found their fanbases years later, such as Blade Runner and Hocus Pocus.
Renfield 2 Release Date
As it isn't confirmed, there is no Renfield 2 release date, and if a sequel does ever happen, it'll likely be after Renfield has gained a significant cult following, which could take years. However, it's likely that Universal wants to build a new franchise, especially as their two biggest franchises, Jurassic Park and Fast & Furious, have come to an end or are coming to an end. That's around a billion dollars every couple of years that Universal will stop getting after Fast & Furious 11, so the studio could take a risk by greenlighting a sequel immediately and spending way more on marketing. Given that Renfield's $65 million budget was relatively low compared to Universal's blockbuster event movies, it's a relatively small risk to greenlight a Renfield sequel.
Renfield 2 Cast
Given that Renfield and Rebecca (Awkwafina) form a close relationship in the movie and kill Dracula together, Hoult and Awkwafina will undoubtedly return for the Renfield 2 cast. And though fan-favorite character Teddy Lobo (Ben Schwartz) was killed in the most disgusting way possible, his mother, Bellafrancesca (Shohreh Aghdashloo), the matriarch of the Lobo crime family, can return. The mob boss's connection to the Wolf Man was hinted at too, so the creature could join the Renfield 2 cast too.
Dracula technically isn't dead at the end of Renfield, but Renfield and Rebecca did as much as they could to keep him from ever returning, going as far as to grind him up, melt him down, and create ice cubes out of him. Nevertheless, he can still return, especially as Cage's performance as the Prince of Darkness was by far the most universally praised part of the movie. If a Renfield sequel is greenlit, Universal will undoubtedly want Cage to reprise his role in the Renfield 2 cast.
Renfield 2 Story
Renfield set up the Renfield 2 story in many different ways, though that narratives might continue in different projects that aren't a Renfield sequel. Universal tried to build the Dark Universe in the mid-2010s, which was a shared universe of Universal's monsters, including Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, the Wolf Man, and many others. The universe kicked off with The Mummy, but after that underperformed, Universal canceled all shared universe plans. However, Renfield was quietly rebooting the Dark Universe.
The Lobos are clearly connected to the Wolf Man somehow, given all of the family's wolf symbolism, and though they could appear in Renfield 2, it's just as likely that the crime family could have its own spinoff movie. Cage's Dracula could return to seek revenge in a Renfield sequel too, but Cage has mentioned that he wants a Dracula solo movie. A Wolf-Man movie with the same tone as Renfield or a Dracula solo movie is far more likely than Renfield 2, and if either of those is successful, only then will Universal consider a sequel to the 2023 movie.
