The Grabber is an invisible attacker in Black Phone 2 clip

Back in 2021, Universal Pictures, Blumhouse Productions, and director Scott Derrickson brought us an adaptation of the Joe Hill short story The Black Phone (check out our review HERE) that appeared to tell a complete story that would stand on its own… but the film was made on a budget of around $16 million and earned over $160 million at the global box office. So, on October 17, 2025, we’ll be getting Black Phone 2. Filming wrapped in January, and with its release just hours away, IGN has unveiled a clip from the film that shows how the evil villain known as The Grabber, played by Ethan Hawke, operates this time around. The child killer has gone supernatural, and you can see him in action in the clip at the bottom of this article.

Derrickson wrote the screenplay for the first film with C. Robert Cargill, and Derrickson and Cargill have written the screenplay for Black Phone 2 as well, with Derrickson returning to the helm. He and Cargill are also producing the sequel with Blumhouse’s Jason Blum and Ryan Turek.

Based on a short story by Joe Hill, The Black Phone centered on Finney Shaw, a shy but clever 13-year-old boy, who is abducted by a sadistic killer and trapped in a soundproof basement where screaming is of little use. When a disconnected phone on the wall begins to ring, Finney discovers that he can hear the voices of the killer’s previous victims. And they are dead set on making sure that what happened to them doesn’t happen to Finney. If you’d like to read the short story that The Black Phone is based on, it can be found in Hill’s collection 20th Century Ghosts, which you can buy HERE. 

The sequel sees the return of Mason Thames (How to Train Your Dragon) as Finney Shaw, Madeleine McGraw (Secrets of Sulphur Springs) as Finney’s sister Gwen, Jeremy Davies (Justified) as their dad Terrence, and Miguel Mora, whose only previous credit is The Black Phone, as Robin, a friend of Finney’s who was killed in the first movie. This time, Mora is playing a character named Ernesto. As mentioned, Ethan Hawke (Moon Knight) is reprising the role of the child-killer The Grabber. New additions to the cast include Demián Bichir of The Hateful Eight, Arianna Rivas (A Working Man), and Anna Lore (Final Destination: Bloodlines).

Here’s the official synopsis for Black Phone 2, courtesy of Blumhouse: Ethan Hawke returns to the most sinister role of his career as The Grabber seeks vengeance on Finn (Mason Thames) from beyond the grave by menacing Finn’s younger sister, Gwen (Madeleine McGraw). As Finn, now 17, struggles with life after his captivity, the headstrong 15-year-old Gwen begins receiving calls in her dreams from the black phone and seeing disturbing visions of three boys being stalked at a winter camp known as Alpine Lake. Determined to solve the mystery and end the torment for both her and her brother, Gwen persuades Finn to visit the camp during a winter storm. There, she uncovers a shattering intersection between The Grabber and her own family’s history. Together, she and Finn must confront a killer who has grown more powerful in death and more significant to them than either could imagine.

JoBlo’s own Ryan Cultrera recently had the chance to watch Black Phone 2, and while he felt that it wasn’t as fresh as its predecessor, he still gave it a 7/10 rating. You can read his review HERE.

Will you be catching Black Phone 2 on the big screen? Watch the clip, then let us know by leaving a comment below.

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