A 1408 sequel is reportedly in early development, with John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson said to be returning for a follow-up to the 2007 Stephen King adaptation. The report comes from entertainment scooper Daniel Richtman, who shared the 1408 sequel news on his Patreon page, and it has since been picked up by Collider, Dread Central, ComicBook.com and CBR.
According to the report, original director Mikael Hafstrom is also back for the new film. No plot details have been shared yet, and no release date has been given. The studio has not confirmed the project, so for now the film should be treated as a report rather than an announcement, and the 1408 sequel remains unconfirmed.
That caution matters, because the original film was never designed to launch a series. King’s short story has no sequel, and the 2007 film told a self contained story about one night in one room. A 1408 sequel would have to find a way back into that room, or find a new reason for its horrors to continue.
What the 1408 sequel report says
The core of the report is the return of the original team. Cusack played Mike Enslin, a sceptical author who makes a living investigating supposedly haunted locations. Jackson played Gerald Olin, the manager of New York’s Dolphin Hotel, who warns Enslin not to check into room 1408. Hafstrom directed the first film, from a script by Matt Greenberg, Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski.
Richtman did not say who is writing the screenplay for the 1408 sequel, how the story will continue, or whether Dimension Films, which released the original, will handle distribution again. Those gaps are normal for a project at such an early stage, but they also mean fans will have to wait for further updates before knowing whether the film will actually reach production.
One question the report raises at once is which ending a sequel would follow. The original film had multiple alternate endings across its theatrical, DVD and streaming versions, with Enslin surviving in some and dying in others. A sequel could pick up from any of them, and that choice would shape the whole story.
Why Cusack has wanted a 1408 sequel for years
Cusack himself has said more than once that he would like to return to the story. In 2020 he told Collider that he had always thought there was another version of 1408, in which Enslin could wake up back in the room and continue on. He said the same at a Say Anything anniversary screening, naming 1408 as the film he would most like to revisit.
He told People that 1408 was the one movie he would actually do a sequel for, a rare statement from an actor who has seldom returned to past roles. That long standing interest is part of why the 1408 sequel report has drawn so much attention: it matches what Cusack has said he wanted, rather than coming out of nowhere.
The original film gave him plenty to work with. Much of 1408 rests on Cusack alone in the room, as the space turns his scepticism against him over the course of a single night. Jackson’s scenes bookend that ordeal, with Olin’s warnings setting the terms: no guest has lasted an hour inside room 1408, and 56 deaths are on the room’s ledger. Mary McCormack and Tony Shalhoub co-starred.
How the original 1408 performed
The 2007 film was a commercial success. Released in the United States on June 22, 2007, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, it earned 20.6 million dollars in its opening weekend and went on to gross 133 million dollars worldwide against a production budget of 25 million dollars, according to Collider. It holds an 80 percent Certified Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 176 reviews.
The critical consensus on Rotten Tomatoes reads: “Relying on psychological tension rather than overt violence and gore, 1408 is a genuinely creepy thriller with a strong lead performance by John Cusack.” Dread Central’s Steve Barton gave the film four out of five in his original review, calling it one of the better King adaptations.
The timing of the 1408 sequel report fits a busy period for King adaptations. Edgar Wright’s remake of The Running Man opens in November, and Prime Video has renewed its Carrie series for a second season. A 1408 sequel would join a run of King projects that has kept the author’s work in steady demand, and the return of Cusack, Jackson and Hafstrom would give it a direct link to the film audiences remember.