Frank Grillo Will Headline “The Purge 2”

After the surprisingly robust opening box office numbers came in on the the micro-budgeted horror film entry The Purge last summer, it was inevitable that a second outing would be on the way.  In the same fashion of the quick burns of recent horror franchises like Saw, Paranormal Activity and Insidious, Universal Pictures and Jason Blum’s Blumhouse Productions are setting The Purge 2 for June 20, 2014, and will feature actor Frank Grillo in a starring role, according to story broken by Deadline today.

The first film, a surprise summer hit starring Ethan Hawke, featured a premise of what might happen if one night each year all laws were revoked.  The second feature will be written and directed by James DeMonaco, who also did the honors the first go around.   While the sequel will reportedly continue on its dystopic premise, plot details are currently tightly held, including Grillo’s character.  Grillo, a film and television character actor for the past two decades has been showcased in films as varied as Warrior (2011), The Grey (2012), End of Watch (2012),  Zero Dark Thirty (2012) and Gangster Squad (2013.)  He can currently be seen on screens in the Jason Statham-James Franco thriller Homefront and next spring in the Marvel entry Captain America: The Winter Soldier (with some speculation based on the recent trailer that he’ll be reappearing as the Punisher, whether that ends up being in other Marvel movies or – more likely – appearances on their TV shows).

Blum will produce The Purge 2, asserting his position as the current go-to producer for horror franchises, as he is also behind the Paranormal Activity series and the Insidious chapters, the most recent of which successfully entered the marketplace last September.