Kathryn Newton says she “literally fell on the floor” when she learned Sarah Michelle Gellar had joined Ready or Not 2: Here I Come, the sequel to Searchlight’s 2019 horror hit, as the film’s new trailer and CCXP São Paulo appearance sharpen the sequel’s profile ahead of its 2026 release.
Speaking onstage at CCXP, Newton recalled an early rehearsal in which she spotted Gellar’s photo on a wall and was told the Buffy the Vampire Slayer star would be hunting her and Samara Weaving’s characters in the film. “I saw Sarah Michelle Gellar’s photo on the wall and I was like, ‘She’s in the movie?’… And I literally fell on the floor because Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a huge inspiration of mine,” she said, describing the casting as a full-circle moment for a longtime fan of Gellar’s horror work.
Newton also framed her involvement as the payoff to a promise from directing duo Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, who previously worked with her on vampire thriller Abigail. She told the CCXP crowd the filmmakers called after that release and said, “We wrote Ready or Not 2, and you’re the girl,” adding that her new character was written specifically for her. In the sequel, she plays Faith, the estranged sister of Weaving’s Grace.
Ready or Not 2: Here I Come reunites Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett with original writers Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy and producers Tripp Vinson, James Vanderbilt, Bradley J. Fischer and William Sherak. The film wrapped production in Toronto in mid-2025 and is set for release on April 10, 2026.
The new trailer, released on December 3, picks up moments after Grace survives the Le Domas family’s deadly wedding-night ritual. She now faces a deadlier contest alongside Faith, as four rival families hunt the sisters for control of a powerful “High Seat of the Council” that secretly rules the world. The footage positions Gellar as one of the key hunters, alongside Elijah Wood, Shawn Hatosy, Néstor Carbonell, Kevin Durand, Olivia Cheng and David Cronenberg. Weaving has described the sequel as “so unhinged,” signaling a bloodier, more expansive game.
The first Ready or Not turned a $6 million budget into $57.6 million worldwide and built strong word of mouth among horror fans for its blend of sharp class satire and splatter. The sequel now leans on that goodwill, the return of Weaving’s final girl Grace and the added draw of Gellar, whose presence connects the film to an earlier generation of genre favorites. Early online reaction to the trailer highlights that mix: fans praise the reunion of the Radio Silence team with Weaving while zeroing in on Newton and Gellar as a marquee pairing for the next round of carnage.
