When it was released in 2019,Escape Roombecame a massive success and the follow-up film.Escape Room: Tournament of Championsin 2021 signaled that a brand-new horror franchise had emerged. Acting sort of like a PG-13 version ofthe long-runningSawfranchise,Escape Roomfeatures six diverse strangers who are invited to a mysterious place to take on the escape room, where they will compete to see if they can solve a series of puzzles to win $10,000. Of course, things aren’t as they seem, and a game of life or death is revealed for the contestants.
Adam Robitel (Insidious: The Last Key) directedEscape Roomand returned for its sequel,Escape Room: Tournament of Champions. The sequel went bigger and bolder, with even deadlier and more complex escape rooms. It also brought back two main characters from the first film, who would play a significant role in the sequel and its mind-blowing conclusion. TheEscape Room 2endingset the stage for what was to come, but now feels a bit unfortunate.
Why It Doesn’t Look Like Escape Room 3 Will Happen
Escape Room 2 Was A Box Office Disappointment
Escape Room: Tournament of Championswas a marginally better film than its predecessor, but failed to live up to the high financial expectations set by the first film.Escape Roommade a massive $155 million off of only a $9 million budget, whileEscape Room: Tournament of Championsmade only $53 million against a budget of $15 million (viaThe Numbers). This is a massive drop-off between films, and COVID-19 might have played some part in it, butwhen sequels underperform likeEscape Room 2did, chances of a franchise making more movies begin to dwindle.
Escape Room 2: 5 Reasons Why It’s Better Than The First One (& 5 Why The First Is Better)
Equally as exciting as the original film, there are multiple arguments for why Escape Room: Tournament of Champions surpasses its predecessor.
At one time, it really did seem like anEscape Room 3was being planned out, or at least there were ideas for where the story could go. The director of the first two films,Adam Robitel, sat down withEWright beforeEscape Room: Tournament of Championswas released and talked about the possibility of what could be in store for the third film, stating:
We have a treasure trove of ideas [for a thirdEscape Roommovie]. It’s really going to be up to the fans. But, look, there’s a lot of ways to skin the cat, there’s a lot of different ways to continue to play with the audience’s expectations. Yeah, we’d be really excited to do that.
Right after the release ofEscape Room: Tournament of Champions, Robitel once again talked aboutEscape Room 3, this time withThe Wrap, and explained some ideas floating around for the third film’s story, stating:
Does movie three pick up right on the plane, or is it going in a different direction? I like the idea of opening a movie with the people watching it, like the a–holes who actually watch these games, like they should be thrown into a escape room. Because they’re the real problem, right? They’re the rubberneckers, they’re the ones in the Coliseum watching the gladiators be fed to the lions. So let’s see them get their just desserts.
While it is obvious that Robitel believed that a third film in theEscape Roomfranchise would be made,there has been radio silence for the series as a whole sinceEscape Room: Tournament of Championsfailed to live up to financial expectations.As more time passes betweenEscape Room 2and a possibleEscape Room 3, it looks to be more unlikely than ever.
Escape Room 3 Needs To Pay Off The Massive Cliffhanger In The Sequel
The Heroes Are Still Trapped By Minos
While the sequel was a solid direction for the franchise to go in,Escape Room 2left off with a massive cliffhangerthat might never see a proper resolution. TheEscape Room: Tournament of Championsending reveals that Deborah Ann Woll’s character Amanda from the first film actually survived, and has been designing escape rooms for Minos ever since. Minos then allows Zoey, Ben, and Amanda to believe that they have won and have escaped, butonce they get on a plane, it is revealed that it is another escape room, indicating that Minos can never really be defeated.
Amanda was a fan-favorite character inEscape Roomwho seemingly fell to her death.
While this ending forEscape Room: Tournament of Championscould set up a potential third film, it’s really the alternate ending of the sequel that truly primes the franchise for another installment. This version of the film introduces Isabelle Fuhrman’s Claire, the actual puzzle maker, and is obviously setting her up to be the villain ofEscape Room 3. No matter what cut of the film is considered canon to the franchise, there still remains a massive cliffhanger that will likely never be resolved, makingEscape Room: Tournament of Champions' ending incredibly frustrating. There are so many threads left unsolved.
