“Let’s go!” yelled Ready or Not 2: Here I Come star Kathryn Newton before the lights went down at tonight’s world SXSW premiere.
“Yeah, I’m loud,” she exclaimed to the filled Paramount Theatre audience, who of course, were full of plenty of noise on night two of the Lone Star State capital’s film and TV fiesta. In what was a completely appropriate booking for Friday the 13th at the Austin-based film festival, a horror film was the main 5PM attraction. And Newton kept the crowd going with screams and laughs through tonight’s screening, sitting right behind her co-star Shawn Hatosy.
Franchise star Samara Weaving was a no-show as she’s expecting her first baby back in LA, however, sequel’s additional star, Sarah Michelle Gellar represented her with a handheld face mask cutout (check out our junket interview above where we spoke with Weaving who told us “I couldn’t prep for any stunts because my back was out”). Weaving, clad in a magenta pink gown, recorded a video message to fans, which ran at the start of the film. Also, she posed for a photo with Newton in front of the Sunset Blvd billboard on Wednesday.
Sarah Michelle Gellar at “Ready or Not 2: Here I Come” Premiere during the SXSW Conference & Festivals held at Paramount Theatre on March 13, 2026 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Travis P. Ball/SXSW Conference & Festivals via Getty Images)
courtesy of Searchlight
The key to survival during a Ready or Not production is to stay fit the entire time as an Olympics of blood-filled chase and fight scenes unfold.
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Speaking to the crowd at the end of the film, Radio filmmakers Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin said that a sequel was never planned. Weaving, for one, was told that her backstory was that of a lone wolf who grew up in foster care. It wasn’t until she got the second script from the horror series scribes Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murray that she learned she had an estranged sister in Newton’s character, Faith. In fact, Murray and Busick wrote a post-credits scene, which the filmmakers were unable to shoot due to budget restrictions. The tag tipped off to a sequel in which the greater 1% are in on the rich person’s blood hunt sport.
What makes a Ready or Not 2 movie special? “Practical effects” said Gillett on stage tonight.
“Everyone gathers around the monitor when Sam and Kathryn are about to get shot with a blood cannon,” he said.
“There’s nothing more clever than the truth, and we’re getting splattered with goo, no matter what. Those reactions were real and honest, it’s just better. You can feel it. You guys felt it. I could hear you,” exclaimed Newton.
“I didn’t get blood-splattered,” responded Elijah Wood. “I didn’t either,” said Michelle Gellar.
There was one moment during the movie when Newton was splattered with blood in a pattern that yielded such a great take, Radio Silence had to recreate it on her face the next production day for consistency.
RELATED: ‘Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come’ Review: Samara Weaving Provides Bloody Good Time In Radio Silence’s Sequel — SXSW
During our interview with Weaving and Newton back in LA, we asked about their thoughts for a threequel.
“I thought it would be funny if we do a completely different genre like a rom-com and it’s about two sisters who meet two brothers — miscommunication drama and there’s no blood at all, and we piss off everyone.”
Mic-dropped Newton, “No suspense — just kissing.”
Ready or Not 2: Here I Come from Searchlight Pictures comes out next Friday, March 20.
