At Comic-Con, The Strangers: Chapter 2 teases Maya’s breaking point and a town in chaos

The Strangers: Chapter 2 is the upcoming film in the slasher horror genre. Directed by Renny Harlin, it is the fourth part in the franchise and a direct sequel to 2024's The Strangers: Chapter 1. The film is scheduled to be released by Lionsgate on September 26, 2025. Here is the official synopsis:

On the final day of their cross country road trip, a couple’s vehicle breaks down, forcing them to take refuge in a remote Airbnb. As night falls, three masked strangers terrorize them until dawn.

At the recent Comic-Con, the creators discussed the film and even released some footage featuring the protagonist Maya.

The Strangers: Chapter 2 Comic-Con footage showcases key moments from the film

At San Diego Comic-Con, the team of The Strangers: Chapter 2 arrived to speak about it. Madelaine Petsch, who stars in the lead role, along with director Renny Harlin and producer Courtney Solomon, was in attendance. As per Collider, Harlin discussed elevating the sequel to a new level of storytelling.

“So, for me as a director, it was just an incredible chance to take a movie that starts in a kind of claustrophobic, small setting to a totally different level, take it to an epic storytelling level without sacrificing those quality characters that we established."

The viewers were also shown several clips from the film. In one, Maya Lucas can be seen running through the woods in heavy rain. She is wearing a hospital gown and spots a car that stops to help her. Maya gets in but quickly realizes she may have landed herself in trouble. This scene highlights her reaching a breaking point as the women inside the car take her to their house.

In another clip, viewers see a one-take shot of Maya walking through an empty hospital as a masked killer chases her. She locks herself in a bathroom, which the killer then breaks into. Fortunately, Maya manages to escape. This connects to the earlier footage of her running in the woods.

The makers noted that this time, they focused on an entire town, and the footage hints at it being in chaos. Solomon also said that they are already working on a third installment.

Speaking of the hospital scene, Harlin said:

“[It was] kind of a natural way to make Maya very vulnerable in this environment that is supposed to be safe.”

He added,

"I think hospitals are scary to begin with. My dad was a doctor, and I spent most time in hospitals when I was little, and I’m still traumatized by it"

The Strangers: Chapter 2 is written by Alan R. Cohen and Alan Freedland. It is produced by Courtney Solomon, Gary Raskin, Charlie Dombek, Mark Canton, Alastair Birlingham, and Christopher Milburn. It stars Madelaine Petsch as the protagonist Maya Lucas, while Gabriel Basso and Ema Horvath play Gregory and Shelly.

The movie is scheduled for release on September 26, 2025.