WWE Studios is bringing “See No Evil” back to life, producing a sequel with Lionsgate to the horror film that will again star wrestler Kane as a psychopath that goes on a killing spree.
“See No Evil” was the first film that WWE produced through its film division, and went on to earn $19 million worldwide when it was released in 2006 — its biggest hit until this year’s Halle Berry thriller “The Call,” which generated $52 million to date.
Production on “See No Evil 2″ will start in the fall, with identical twin helmers the Soska Sisters Jen and Sylvia (“American Mary”) set to direct. They are also among the directors that will contribute to the anthology series “ABCs of Death 2.” The duo captured the attention of the film biz with their low-budget indie “Dead Hooker in a Trunk” in 2009.
Kane will return as the reclusive madman Jacob Goodnight, who rises from the dead in the city morgue after his killing spree at the Blackwell hotel and goes after a group of medical students who fight to survive. Nathan Brookes and Bobby Lee Darby are co-writing the script.
In Gregory Dark’s first film, Kane’s seven-foot tall, 400-pound character has a rusty steel plate screwed into his skull and razor-sharp fingernails as he stalks a group of juvenile delinquents tasked with cleaning up an abandoned hotel.
Lionsgate will handle worldwide distribution of ”See No Evil 2,” while WWE Studios will promote the film through its weekly TV series, digital, social media and print platforms.
“See No Evil 2″ becomes the fourth film WWE Studios has produced with Lionsgate after the original “See No Evil,” “The Condemned” and a reboot of the “Leprechaun” series, which will star WWE’s Hornswoggle.