Bella Thorne to write, direct and star in Spring Breakers sequel

Bella Thorne has taken over as writer and director of Spring Breakers: Salvation Mountain, the long-gestating sequel she is also starring in, replacing original director Matthew Bright after producers watched an early cut of her own debut feature.

TL;DR

• Bella Thorne revealed on the Call Her Daddy podcast that she is now writing and directing Spring Breakers: Salvation Mountain.
• She steps in for Matthew Bright, who was previously attached to direct the sequel.
• Producers greenlit her script after seeing an early cut of Color Your Hurt, Thorne’s own directorial debut.
• The film also stars Grace Van Dien, Ariel Martin and True Whitaker.

Thorne steps into the director’s chair

Thorne made the announcement in an interview on Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast, according to Variety. She said producers watched an early cut of Color Your Hurt — the coming-of-age thriller she just wrapped as her directorial debut — and asked her to write a sample script for the sequel.

“They loved it,” Thorne said, according to Variety, and she is now writing and directing the follow-up herself.

Bright, known for Freeway, had been attached to direct since the project was first confirmed. Thorne did not detail the circumstances of his departure.

A new cast, a new decade

Spring Breakers: Salvation Mountain was first confirmed in May 2025, with original producers Chris Hanley and Jordan Gertner returning alongside an entirely new cast. “We’re excited to keep exploring bold, new, disruptive stories around that wild, fever dream of youth,” Hanley and Gertner said in a statement reported by Variety at the time.

Van Dien, Martin and Whitaker play the rest of the rebellious group whose spring break trip spirals into a crime spree, a synopsis Variety obtained describes as “a bold new ride for Gen Z.”

Thorne also addressed how the sequel departs from Harmony Korine’s 2012 original, noting that she and fellow former Disney stars Miley Cyrus, Zendaya and Selena Gomez were once pitted against each other over who would become the industry’s “next bad girl.” She said that dynamic no longer applies to her generation of collaborators.

No UK release date yet, but the original holds an 18 certificate

Salvation Mountain has no confirmed UK cinema or streaming date. The 2012 original, however, carries an 18 certificate from the British Board of Film Classification and returned to UK cinemas through an A24 IMAX re-release in 2025, per the BFI IMAX listing. That film grossed more than $30 million worldwide against a $5 million budget. Source: BFI IMAX / Box Office Mojo

Reportedly, no UK distributor has yet been confirmed for the sequel.

We’ll keep you posted on updates about Spring Breakers: Salvation Mountain as the project develops.

For more on legacy sequels reviving 2000s-era teen properties, see our coverage of Diablo Cody’s return to write Jennifer’s Body 2 and the cast’s Stranger Things 10th-anniversary merch drop.

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Reported from publicly available interviews and verified press sources. Last reviewed August 7, 2026.