Walt Disney Studios has shifted the release date for the horror sequel 'Ready or Not 2: Here I Come' forward by one week to March 20, 2026. The move signals strong confidence from Searchlight Pictures following the film's world premiere at SXSW. The film stars Samara Weaving reprising her role alongside Kathryn Newton and a notable ensemble cast.
The announcement comes as 2025 draws to a close, with Disney adjusting several release dates for 2026 and beyond. Specifically, 'Ready or Not 2: Here I Come,' directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett of Radio Silence, was previously set for March 27, 2026, after an earlier shift from April 10. The new date positions the film for a spring break weekend, though it will compete with Amazon MGM Studios' 'Project Hail Mary' and IFC's 'Forbidden Fruits.'
The sequel picks up immediately after the events of the 2019 original, where Samara Weaving's character, Grace MacCaullay, survived a deadly family ritual. The official logline states: "Moments after surviving an all-out attack from the Le Domas family, Grace discovers she’s reached the next level of the nightmarish game — and this time with her estranged sister Faith (Newton) at her side. Grace has one chance to survive, keep her sister alive, and claim the High Seat of the Council that controls the world. Four rival families are hunting her for the throne, and whoever wins rules it all."
Joining Weaving and Newton are Sarah Michelle Gellar, Shawn Hatosy, Néstor Carbonell, Kevin Durand, Olivia Cheng, Nadeem Umar-Khitab, David Cronenberg, and Elijah Wood. The screenplay is by Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy, with producers Tripp Vinson, James Vanderbilt, William Sherak, and Bradley J. Fischer.
The original 'Ready or Not' was a modest hit, produced for $6 million and grossing $28 million domestically, making it Searchlight's top release of 2019. The film's world premiere is slated for SXSW, running March 12-18 in Austin, Texas, underscoring the studio's optimism for the follow-up.