The Grabber is back, and he’s got a brand-new victim in Black Phone 2, as revealed in an exclusive image provided to Polygon.
Released in 2021 from director Scott Derrickson, The Black Phone focuses on the Grabber (Ethan Hawke) kidnapping and torturing a boy named Finney (Mason Thames). Finney is able to communicate with the Grabber’s dead previous victims through a phone in the basement where he’s being held, which gives him the information and tools he needs to survive. Meanwhile, his sister Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) uses her nascent psychic powers to help the police find the house where Finney is being held. Gwen and the Grabber never come into direct contact in The Black Phone, but that’s set to change in the upcoming sequel, Black Phone 2.
A trailer teased the return of the Grabber, who notably dies in the original movie, stalking and attacking Gwen. However, it’s unclear whether these scenes are happening in Black Phone 2‘s reality, or in one of Gwen’s psychic premonitions. However, an exclusive new image provided to Polygon by NBCUniversal for our fall preview seems to confirm that his return has some impact on her either way. The image shows the Grabber stalking Gwen down a very real-looking hallway while carrying a very real-looking axe.
While this image seems to solve one mystery about the sequel, it doesn’t answer our biggest question: How does the Grabber return? To find out, you’ll have to watch Black Phone 2 when it releases in theaters on Oct. 17.