'You never say never...' Damien Leone talks future of Terrifier franchise
Terrifier creator Damien Leone has hinted he could bring back Art the Clown in more movies even though he is billing part four as the final film in the slasher series.
Terrifier creator Damien Leone won't completely rule out bringing back Art the Clown after the release of his next film.
The director is working on the fourth instalment of the horror franchise which he has billed as the final battle between the demonic killer and his nemesis Sienna Shaw, played by Lauren LaVera.
Leone insists his plan is to conclude the story in part four, but he can't fully rule out bringing back Art the Clown - who is played by David Howard Thornton.
When asked if Terrifier 4 will really be the end for Art the Clown, Leone answered: "I am writing it as a finale. But of course, you never say never."
Insisting he doesn't want the Terrifier franchise suffering the same decline as other slasher series, he added: "You don’t want to wear out your welcome.
"That’s something that concerns me. I don’t want the well to run dry. We put so much into these movies. There are so many kill scenes in all of these movies and crazy Art the Clown antics, so is he still going to keep getting the laughs and are we still going to be able to keep one-upping the kills? That’s a real concern. I want to go out strong."
Leon gets to meet a lot of fans at various horror conventions and he is frequently told to keep bringing Art the Clown back for more killing sprees, but he is trying not to think beyond the upcoming fourth film.
He said: "I do a lot of horror conventions, and we meet our fans all the time. I would say that 80 per cent of them are like, “I don’t care if you make 100. Just keep going like that. We don’t care what you do. Don’t ever stop making these movies.” I love to hear that. But the quality control of this franchise is very important, so this is being written as a finale.
"We opened the door to the supernatural in Part 2, so we could do anything. It’s like any of the other slashers that have come before, you can make a million movies. There’s always a way. We’ll see. One movie at a time."
Leone has stated that Terrifier 4 will provide an origin story for Art the Clown, and he is worried about fulfilling fans' expectations with his plot.
He said: "I worry about everything - 90 percent of my day is worrying. That’s a huge concern. I love the mystique. That’s the most important part, even if people don’t realise it because they’re just so hungry to know what his deal is. I think a lot of people don’t realise the reason he works so well is because of the mystique. If you pull the curtain back too far and you lose that mystique, it’s over. You’re not supposed to see the wizard behind the curtain. It’s almost always a disappointment.
"I think there’s a way with his origin to have my cake and eat it too, but we’ll find out. I am taking a bit of a risk, but I’m very well aware about losing that mystique at the same time, so we’ll see if it plays out. I think the majority of people are going to be very cool with it. We’ll see."
