Key Takeaways
- Ethan Hawke returns as The Grabber for The Black Phone 2, despite his character’s apparent demise in the first film.
- The supernatural undertone in The Black Phone could lead to The Grabber contacting victims from beyond the grave in the sequel.
- The origins of The Grabber will likely be explored in the sequel, providing fans with more backstory and depth to the character.
Production on Blumhouse’s The Black Phone 2 began recently, and the highly anticipated sequel is currently slated for release on October 17, 2025. Ethan Hawke is confirmed to be reprising his role as The Grabber, meaning audiences can expect to be spooked by the creepy antagonist once again.
However, after the ending of The Black Phone, some are surprised that Hawke is returning to the sequel. The Grabber appeared to meet his maker at the end of the original film, with audiences believing the character was dead. Yet, with Hawke confirmed to be in the cast, some creativity will be needed to bring back The Grabber again.
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The Grabber Is Confirmed To Be Returning
Ethan Hawke’s brilliant performance in The Black Phonemade The Grabber feel eerie yet captivating, commanding people’s attention. However, he was ultimately a terrifying character, and the fact that he kidnapped children meant that audiences were pleased when he met his demise at the film’s climax.
The Grabber is eventually killed at the end of the movie as Finney attacks him with the cord of his phone, which has caused so much mental pain and suffering throughout the course of the story. Audiences left the movie with a sense of relief, knowing that the villain had been defeated and all was right with the world.
However, in typical horror movie fashion, it appears that The Grabber is not done as Hawke is back for the sequel. It’s an interesting decision to create another movie based on this character. But, as countless great horror franchises have proven, sticking to the same villain and telling different stories can be a path to success.
One of the reasons why The Grabber is so scary is because he feels real, as, unfortunately, a character like this could exist in the world today. Seeing someone kidnap and torture children is horrible, and that’s what makes the character so deplorable and terrifying. However, throughout The Black Phone, there is a supernatural undertone that could be tapped into to bring the character back for the sequel.
Ghosts of The Grabber’s former victims contact Finney throughout the original movie via the old phone on the wall. The phone connects Finney with the past, providing some scary moments while ultimately being the key to his freedom once he unlocks the puzzle of using the calls. However, that phone could be how The Grabber gets involved in The Black Phone 2.
Whether it’s tormenting a slightly older Finney from beyond the grave or having him contact new characters to tell a completely different story is unclear, but this would be an excellent tool for getting The Grabber back in the mix. It would allow for another horror villain to be created in the real world. At the same time, The Grabber provides the connection between the original movie and being enhanced as a character because he would be doing something completely different this time around.
Having The Grabber involved in the story via this supernatural twist would help make the sequel feel totally different, which is important. If Blumhouse wants the movie to be unique and able to stand alone in its own right, then using the same villain in a refreshing manner would achieve that.
The Grabber’s Origins Will Be Explained
Arguably, the easiest way to bring The Grabber back is to have this movie essentially be a prequel, or at least have elements of one. Audiences are simply introduced to The Grabber in the original film, and there aren’t massive details about who he is as a person or why he behaves in such a way. This move could fill that gap of knowledge for fans by looking back at the past.
Rather than trying to bring The Grabber back to life from beyond the grave, this movie could look back at how he reached that point and why. It would focus on who he is as a person, what influenced his decisions, and ultimately, why he became the horror villain that fans understand him to be. This could lead to some dark scenes that would provide the expected scares fans want from a Blumhouse movie, while also adding more backstory to the character if they’re going to make more movies down the road.
If the sequel is also going to continue where the original left off, then potentially introducing a new villain could be done. Blumhouse has proven it can weave between past, present, and future with its other properties, such as the Insidious franchise, so there’s no reason why that cannot happen here.
However, with The Grabber confirmed to be part of this movie in some capacity, it would feel like a wasted opportunity not to provide a little more backstory and explanation for his character’s behavior. Horror villains can sometimes be scarier when less is known, and people just accept them as monsters. But in the case of The Grabber, he is grounded in reality. Therefore, it would benefit the franchise to showcase his history and give fans more understanding in The Black Phone 2.
9/10