Escape Room 2 has moved its release once again, this time for a date six months earlier than the last planned release of January 7, 2022. The change might be connected to the recent movie theaters recovery, as the past couple of weeks have seen strong box office numbers.

The first Escape Room was received with mixed reviews, mostly due to how the movie prioritizes the creation of a franchise, instead of focusing on the story it has to tell. However, that didn’t stop Escape Room from hauling an impressive box office of $155 million, with a budget of only $9 million to cover. It didn’t take long for the sequel to get into production, but fearing the effects of the pandemic on theaters, Escape Room 2 was delayed several times. With movie theaters slowly recovering after the impressive box office of Godzilla vs Kong, and the continued success of Mortal Kombat, Colombia Pictures seem to be feeling more optimistic about Escape Room 2 possibility of success.

Image via Sony

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Escape Room followed a group of people put inside a huge death trap, tailored to their own personal stories. While the group battled to survive the sick games, leads Taylor Russell and Logan Miller uncovered that the escape room was developed by a network of bored rich people. Though plot details for Escape Room 2 have not been revealed, it’s expected the movie to follow the first installment cliffhanger, where the heroes were ready to take the fight to their previous captors, while the powerful organization plans a new game to get rid of the survivors.

Adam Robitel returns to the direction of Escape Room 2, while Neal H. Moritz maintains his producer position. Indya Moore, Holland Roden, Isabelle Fuhrman, Carlito Olivero, Thomas Cocquerel and James Frain will join the cast, while Russell and Miller will reprise their parts.

Escape Room 2 will hit theaters this July 16.

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