With the fast-paced nature of the Internet, and the deluge of media available at people’s fingertips, it often feels difficult to dub anything from the 21st century a “classic.”
And yet, for the better part of the past fifteen years, Jennifer’s Body has been rightly christened a classic. Karyn Kusama’s 2009 horror movie transcended a flawed marketing campaign (and, arguably, a bit of cultural internalized misogyny towards its star, Megan Fox) and continues to resonate with people to this day. The movie is violent, weird, and incredibly rewatchable… with an ending that might end up being followed up on.
In a recent interview with Deadline, Kusama confirmed years-long chatter on the Internet that a Jennifer’s Body sequel is being worked on, saying that screenwriter Diablo Cody has a “fun and crazy” idea for how to escalate things even further.
“I know she’s working on it right now, and I’m very excited to hear what comes of it,” Kusama said. “I know some of the bones of it, so I’m not going to give anything away, but it sounds fun and crazy like the first film. And I have no doubt that Diablo will do something absolutely incredible with it.”
This comes after Amanda Seyfried, who starred alongside Fox in the film, coyly revealed in March of this year that she “thinks” a sequel is in the cards.
Jennifer’s Body starred Fox as the titular Jennifer, who becomes possessed by a demon after a rock band tried (and failed) to use her as a virgin sacrifice. As Jennifer tries to navigate through high school, and through her growing desire for human flesh, her nerdy best friend Neely (Seyfried) grows increasingly worried.
Jennifer and Neely, we miss you
Sure, on paper, the ending of Jennifer’s Body might not seem open-ended enough for a sequel. By the time the credits roll, Neely has seemingly fatally stabbed Jennifer in the heart… and inherited some of her powers along the way. She then enacts her murderous revenge on the band that turned Jennifer into a succubus to begin with.
But as fiction (and especially horror fiction) has shown, there are definitely plenty of ways to bring Jennifer back from the dead… especially if nearly two decades will have passed between the two films. And honestly, that gap between Jennifer’s Body and the potential sequel could prove to be pretty perfect. Not just because we’re starting to get cultural nostalgia for the 2000s emo and pop punk music that is so part of the first film’s DNA, with bands like Fall Out Boy and My Chemical Romance actively going on tour, and the We Are Young festival trying to recapture the magic of peak Warped Tour.
But because it would honestly be fascinating to see what Neely and Jennifer are like as people, two decades removed from the chaotic and murderous events of their high school days. What could their lives as mid-30s women look like right now, especially once you fold in the thirst for blood and supernatural powers? And could the queer love story (Cody’s words, not mine) between Jennifer and Neely be taken beyond the borderline-romantic subtext of the first film, now that queer representation in media has gotten markedly better? The possibilities are endless.
Beyond all of that, I feel like our world needs another chapter of Jennifer’s Body right now. Its unique combination of gross, punk rock, and unapologetically feminine have bled into other horror titles since then, but there are still weirder and more girly places for a sequel to go. And just imagine Neely and Jennifer’s exchange of “You’re killing people!” “No, I’m killing boys!” in the context of the current rise of incels and the “male loneliness epidemic.” It could be heightened, cathartic, and a lot of fun.
(featured image: 20th Century Fox)
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