Back in March 2016, we reported that the long-gestatingJeepers Creepers 3is finally happening, with originalJeepers CreepersstarGina Philipsbeing eyed to return. DirectorVictor Salva, who wrote and directedJeepers CreepersandJeepers Creepers 2, was back to direct with an April 2016 shoot lined up in Vancouver, but that shoot never happened. Today we have word that the sequel is back on track yet again, with the production shifting to Louisiana and filming set to begin next month.
Bloody-Disgustingreports thatVictor Salvais returning to write and direct, but it hasn’t been confirmed ifGina Phillipsis still coming back to reprise her role as Trish from the firstJeepers Creepers. An earlier report in September 2014 revealed thatJonathan Breckwill return as The Creeper withBrandon Smithalso reprising his role as Sergeant Davis Tubbs from the first movie, but their return has yet to be confirmed.
It’s also worth noting that the illicit past of directorVictor Salvaseemed to have an impact on production stopping last year. In 1988, the director pleaded no contest and was convicted for engaging in oral copulation with a minor. The minor in question wasNathan Forrest Winters, the 12-year-old lead actor of the director’s horror thrillerClownhouse, with the director reportedly videotaping himself performing sexual acts with his young star. Just a week after it was reported thatGina Phillipsmay return for the sequel, a casting call for the sequel went out, which prompted the The Union of British Columbia Performers to issue a warning to talent agencies about the director’s past, which prompted Breakdown Services to remove the casting call permanently.
The role that was being cast at the time was an 18-year-old girl named Addison, who, at the age of 13, is forced to move in with her grandmother after her stepdad ‘started making overtures’. It was never quite clear how large of a role this was, or how Addison fits into this story, but the original synopsis revealed the story is set on the final day ofThe Creeper’s 23-day feeding frenzy, with Tubbs returning to form a task force, “hellbent on destroying the creeper for good.” The synopsis also teased that the Creeper’s enemies, “grow closer than ever before to learning the secret of its dark origins.”
The originalJeepers Creepers moviewas released in 2001, featuring a performance by a then-rising starJustin Long, alongsideGina Phillips,Eileen Brennan,Brandon Smith,Jeffrey William EvansandJonathan Breckas The Creeper. The movie earned just $37.9 million domestically and an additional $21.3 million worldwide for a $59.2 million worldwide total. While those numbers aren’t necessarily huge,Jeepers Creeperswas produced under just a $10 million budget.Jeepers Creepers 2hit theaters in 2003, earning $35.6 million domestically and $27.4 million internationally for a worldwide total of $63.1 million from a $17 million budget. No budget figures were released for the sequel, which at one point was entitledJeepers Creepers 3: Cathedral, although it remains to be seen if that title will remain intact.
