This article contains minor spoilers for "The Black Phone 2."
Horror has proven to be one of the most prolific and profitable genres of cinema, with unique, adventurous stories made on a low budget that become multi-million-dollar franchises spanning decades. The most recent example, the "Conjuring" universe, decided to spotlight characters that worked well in a film and expand their role, giving audiences a reason to keep coming back for more. Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill's adaptation of Joe Hill's short story "The Black Phone" was a massive success in 2022, but the team never intended to franchise out the story. However, once it became clear that "Black Phone 2" was happening, the creative team knew that they needed to strike a balance between delivering something