GOOSEBUMPS 2 Is Happening

Rob Letterman's family horror-comedy Goosebumps - headlined by Jack Black and co-starring a whole bunch of funny people like Jillian Bell, Timothy Simons, and Ken Marino - was a modest hit for Sony last year. Critics mostly dug it, families were entertained, and the film earned $157m worldwide on the back of its $58m production budget.

So you can see where this is heading.

Sony is moving forward on a sequel to its 2015 family frightfest, closing deals to bring back director Rob Letterman and writer Darren Lemke.

Yup, Goosebumps 2 is a go. No as of yet as to whether or not Jack Black will return, though The Hollywood Reporter (who broke the story here) says that they're pursuing him. You can probably go ahead and assume that he's gonna say "Yes". 

For the record: I rolled my eyes aplenty at Goosebumps when it was in theaters (I'm at just the right age to be disdainful of Goosebumps in general), but eventually I got around to seeing the film and...y'know what? It's a lot better than you might think. Black's solid. The film's many monsters straddle the line between "goofy" and "scary" in a satisfying way. The two kids at the center of the film, Dylan Minnette and Odeya Rush, are both really good. It's not a dumb kids' movie, but one of the good ones. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think I'd recommend it.

Script's being worked on, casting negotiations are underway. Expect Sony to turn this one round relatively quickly, folks.