Frank Grillo says The Purge 6 will be the horror franchise’s “swan song”

The Purge 6, which will reunite the horror franchise’s original creator with Frank Grillo, will be a “swan song”, according to the star.

The Purge is a concept that grabs you from the get-go: if all crime was legal for 24 hours, what would you do? Would you gather your droogs and indulge in a spot of the old ultraviolence, would you loot your favorite stores, or – as is most likely – would you cower in the corner of a locked room counting down the minutes until it’s all over?

The franchise’s 2013 launchpad felt like a missed opportunity, centering such a frightening idea on a home invasion, as if that doesn’t happen while crime is illegal. The Purge: Anarchy, released a year later, was a superb remedy for the disappointment of the first, introducing a game Frank Grillo as Leo Barnes.

He returned in Election Year, but the horror series veered away into prequel territory with The First Purge and broader movies like The Forever Purge, initially pitched as the final instalment – but the story isn’t over yet.

Frank Grillo teases The Purge 6 with new update

In an interview with Comic Book around the release of One Day as a Lion, Grillo discussed plans for The Purge 6.

“[James DeMonaco’s] got the script, man. The script has been written, he submitted it to Universal. Went to [Jason] Blum, Michael Bay. There’s a lot of cooks in the kitchen,” he said.

Universal Pictures

“But it’s Leo Barnes-centric. It’s about Leo Barnes and it really was the Swan Song for the series. I know they’ve said that before, but James only directed one, two, and three. The last movie he directed was ‘Election Year’ and he’s only been involved as a producer going forward from there, but he wants to direct this.

“I’m like, before I start walking on the cane, it’d be a good idea to do it soon. But Universal and Blum haven’t… they just kind of have it on the back burner. It was hot, it was hot for a minute. It was hot for a minute, and then it wasn’t.”

In an earlier interview with Slash Film, DeMonaco confirmed his idea for The Purge 6 is “all about Frank… it’s all about the Leo character. Without giving anything away, I think he’s off on his own, but he’s going to be called back into action, hopefully on Purge 6, if we’re lucky enough to do it.

“I hope that Leo comes back. That’s the goal. When I came up with Purge 6, he was the center of the idea. I’m hoping that we get to do that with him.”

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