A Decade Later, Lights Out 2 Gets a New Writer in Connor Osborn McIntyre

LOS ANGELES — March 31, 2026 — Lights Out 2 is officially moving forward at New Line Cinema, with the studio hiring rising screenwriter Connor Osborn McIntyre to write the long-awaited sequel to its 2016 supernatural horror smash.

The development ends nearly a decade of false starts for Lights Out 2, which was first announced just one week after the original film’s release but cycled through multiple writers without ever entering production.

“New Line has once again brightened up to the idea of a sequel to its 2016 supernatural horror hit,” reported The Hollywood Reporter, which first broke the news on March 28, 2026.

Lights Out 2 Finally Has Real Momentum

Lights Out 2 has been stuck in development for years, with scripts by original writer Eric Heisserer and later Chris Borrelli both failing to gain traction at the studio.

McIntyre is now the third screenwriter to take on the project — and arguably the most buzzed-about hire yet.

Who Is Connor Osborn McIntyre?

McIntyre is one of Hollywood’s most talked-about emerging writers, despite the fact that none of the films he has written have made it to a screen big or small yet.

He co-wrote Animals, an upcoming thriller that Ben Affleck directed and stars in, alongside Gillian Anderson, Steven Yeun, and Kerry Washington.

His original script American Midnight was featured on last year’s Black List of best unproduced screenplays and sold to Netflix.

A separate original screenplay, Copenhagen, sold to Makeready and Fifth Season. He is repped by CAA, Kaplan Perrone Entertainment, and Yorn Levine.

The Original Team Returns to Produce

Original producer Lawrence Grey is returning as producer, while Eric Heisserer and David F. Sandberg — who respectively wrote and directed the first film — will also produce.

Additional producers include Ben Everard and Lotta Losten. Atomic Monster, the banner run by James Wan, is also producing.

No director is currently attached to Lights Out 2, and plot details are being kept under wraps.

What Was the Original Lights Out About?

Lights Out centred on a mother, played by Teresa Palmer, who must protect her child from an evil spirit that can only strike when the lights are off, forcing the family to seek ever-diminishing sources of light.

Sandberg was previously on board to direct Lights Out 2 and would have been working from a screenplay by the first film’s writer Eric Heisserer.

An earlier version of the sequel script reportedly featured the entity Diana haunting a new family, with the original cast returning as experienced survivors to help defeat her.

A Horror Franchise Worth Reviving

Made for less than $5 million, the original became a massive hit, grossing $149 million worldwide.

There is no confirmed timeline for Lights Out 2 to enter production or reach cinemas, but the project is now firmly in active development.

This article was human-curated and verified for accuracy by Lewis Calvert after an initial AI-assisted draft.