Jessica Rothe Vows She Will Finish Tree’s Story in ‘Happy Death Day 3’: ‘Just a Matter of When’
AUSTIN, Texas — March 29, 2026 — Jessica Rothe has pledged she will return for Happy Death Day 3 no matter how long it takes, telling Screen Rant the third instalment is a certainty, the only variable is timing. The declaration arrives nearly a year after Rothe and director Christopher Landon first told fans the film was moving forward, yet the project remains without a greenlight, a script, or a production start date. For a franchise that grossed a combined $189 million on a budget of under $14 million, the wait is testing even its most devoted supporters.
What Rothe Said
In a recent interview published March 27, Rothe told Screen Rant’s Ash Crossan the hold-up is purely logistical. “The truth is, Chris Landon, our brilliant, fearless writer-director, he has the whole third one figured out,” said Jessica Rothe. “I think, at this point, it’s just logistics. All I’ll say to you and to all the fans is, whether it’s next year or when I’m 65, pulling a Jamie Lee Curtis coming back for Halloween, I will be there to finish Tree’s story. It’s just a matter of when they get all their ducks in a row.”
Where the Project Stands
Rothe’s comments arrived on the red carpet for Imposters, her sci-fi thriller that premiered at SXSW 2026. Landon, who helmed both previous films, has had a treatment, working title Happy Death Day to Us, prepared since 2020, but Blumhouse and Universal have yet to formally greenlight it. The franchise’s first film earned $125 million worldwide on a $4.8 million budget when it debuted in 2017. Its 2019 sequel pulled in roughly $64 million against a $9 million budget, a relative underperformance that analysts have cited as the central obstacle to a third instalment.
A Year of Slow Progress
In April 2025, Rothe and Landon both told a crowd at the American Cinematheque in Los Angeles that the third film was “moving forward.” That announcement generated significant fan excitement, but 12 months on there has been no formal studio announcement. Rothe’s latest comments appear to walk back the confidence of that April statement, framing the project more cautiously as an inevitability without a timeline.
What the Third Film Could Look Like
Landon has previously said the third film will not repeat the time-loop structure of the original. He has described it as set on a different day and pitched as a larger-scale story, with hints of what he called an “epic apocalyptic adventure” that retains the franchise’s horror roots. A potential crossover with Landon’s 2020 body-swap slasher Freaky has also been discussed but not confirmed.
The Jamie Lee Curtis Comparison
Rothe’s reference to Jamie Lee Curtis is pointed. Curtis returned to the Halloween franchise in 1998’s H20 — 20 years after the original, and again in 2022’s Halloween Ends, cementing her legacy as one of horror’s most enduring final girls. By invoking that parallel, Rothe is signalling she views Tree Gelbman as a character of similar cultural weight, and her commitment as unconditional.
Elena Vane is an award-winning comics historian and pop culture journalist. Specializing in the DC/Marvel universes and independent graphic novels, Elena has been documenting the rise of cosplay culture for over a decade . She is a frequent panelist at New York Comic Con and provides in-depth biographies of industry pioneers. Elena’s expertise ensures that every comic-related update is factually grounded and community-focused .
