Goosebumps turned out to be one of the more pleasant surprises of 2015. While I was encouraged by what I saw on the set visit, the film surpassed my expectations. Rob Letterman crafted a solid PG family film that was thrilling but not terrifying, and could provide a terrific gateway for younger viewers into horror. The Jumanji-like framework was a solid approach, and Jack Black made for an endearing lead alongside Dylan Minnette, Odeya Rush, and Ryan Lee. If you haven’t gotten around to checking the film out, I highly encourage you to give it a shot, especially if you have kids.

Back in April, we reported that Sony was moving forward with Goosebumps 2, and now the film has a release date: January 26, 2018. Letterman will return to direct with Darren Lemke, who wrote the screenplay for the first film, penning the script

However, I wouldn’t be surprised if Goosebumps 2 ends up getting pushed back. The first film did impressive numbers by being a PG-horror film released around Halloween, making $150 million worldwide off a $58 million budget. While January isn’t exclusively a dumping ground (for example, Split opens this weekend and it’s a good movie), it’s harder to make a splash, especially if your film is targeted at younger viewers who will now be back in school after gobbling up the latest Star Wars movie over the holidays.

Also, if you look at the release calendar for October 2018, Sony doesn’t currently have any movies slated for that month. If they play their cards right, they could easily turn Goosebumps into an October franchise that becomes a must-see movie for kids who are gearing up for Halloween.

While no cast has been announced yet for Goosebumps 2, I would be shocked if Black doesn’t return. Granted, the monsters are the true stars, but for Black, it would be good if he could have a franchise he could call his own, which in turn would allow him to pursue other projects.