This article contains spoilers for 2023’s Thanksgiving. Read at your own risk!

John Carver is back for seconds in the sequel to Eli Roth’s Thanksgiving. The pilgrim-clad slasher was first seen in the 2022 film, where he hacked his way through the small town of Plymouth, Massachusetts, targeting known perpetrators in a deadly Black Friday mob in an attempt at revenge.  With a familial connection to the holiday massacre, a group of friends, led by high-schooler Jessica (Nell Verlaque), must also dodge Carver’s attacks. Carver’s identity was ultimately revealed to be Plymouth’s Sheriff, Eric Newlon, played by Patrick Dempsey. With the film currently sitting at a sweet 84% Rotten Tomatoes score, it’s no surprise that fans are craving more gore.

Renowned horror filmmaker Eli Roth (Hostel, Cabin Fever) recently spoke with IndieWire, where he presented a bountiful harvest of updates on the already confirmed sequel. There is a completed script, he reveals, having written it with previous collaborator Jeff Rendell. Filming is slated to take place in March of next year. Several (surviving) characters will see a return, likely including original stars Verlaque, Addison Rae, Gabriel Davenport, Milo Manheim, Jalen Thomas Brooks, and Rick Hoffman.  It is unknown at this time if Sheriff Newlon is meant to return, with his fate being left ambiguous at the end of Thanksgiving.

When it comes to the tension so deliciously crafted in the original film, Roth teased that the bar and stakes would be raised, on and off camera:

“We’re upping the ante but we are not going to do it with more money,” Roth says. ” That keeps it tight and lean and mean and forces us to make decisions. There’s a lot of setting up that we did in the first one that we don’t have to deal with now. It can just be all pay-off.”

Roth also hopes to deliver a meaty chase scene akin to Kathleen’s (Karen Cliche) from the original, in which she ultimately met her gruesome demise by being cooked like a Thanksgiving turkey.

He continued by expressing his hope to deliver some of the best on-screen kills of his time. “I’ve come up with stuff that is going to be a challenge. And I want it to be a challenge to pull off. Because if I’ve come up with the stuff that I think will make the best kills, then I’m going to do it like I’m never going to make another movie again.”