Sixteen long years passed between the release of Eli Roth’s iconic faux slasher trailer Thanksgiving in 2007’s Grindhouse double feature and the arrival of the highly-anticipated feature film brought to life this year. With the tremendous success of Thanksgiving at the box office, a sequel was guaranteed. Now, stars Nell Verlaque and Rick Hoffman have confirmed their reprisal of roles in the upcoming Thanksgiving 2, set to slice into theaters in 2025.
In an exclusive interview with Games Radar, Verlaque enthusiastically detailed her return as final girl Jess: “To my knowledge, yes. I think it’ll be a continuation of where we last saw her. We’ll see more of the character and the traumatic events she endured.” She emphasized the strength of the original film was the depth of the character relationships that allowed audiences to deeply connect. It seems Roth aims to further develop these bonds in the second installment.
Similarly, Hoffman, who took on the role of Jess’s father Thomas, coyly teased his return: “Based on what I’m told by the director, I’m involved – I don’t want to give anything away, but it’s gonna be an interesting experience for sure.” Could Thomas have his own run-in with the sinister pilgrim killer? Hoffman’s words suggest we might see more of this complex father-daughter relationship tested again.
Roth has envisioned expanding his iconic Thanksgiving concept into a feature film for over fifteen years. After finally bringing the holiday horror vision to life this year, he wasted no time jumping into the sequel with co-writer Jeff Rendell. Rendell memorably played the murderous pilgrim in Roth’s original fake trailer. With the staggering success of Thanksgiving, Spyglass Media quickly greenlit the second movie, allowing the creative duo to realize their ultimate slasher franchise dreams.
While plot details remain tightly wrapped like leftover turkey sandwiches, the basic premise continues the story established in the first film. After a Black Friday tragedy occurs, a vengeful pilgrim-disguised killer begins a murderous spree targeting Plymouth, Massachusetts – the historic home of the Thanksgiving holiday itself.
Along with Verlaque and Hoffman, the original cast featured major stars like Patrick Dempsey, Addison Rae, Gabriel Davenport, and Gina Gershon. No word yet on additional returning or new cast members for the anticipated sequel. But with Roth and Rendell’s killer creative partnership, we can expect a thrilling new entry into the Thanksgiving slasher universe.
