Behind the Mask II: The Return of Leslie Vernon is officially rolling cameras. Actor Ben Pace, who plays cameraman Doug in the franchise, confirmed the news over the weekend with a set photo posted from a location in Illinois, writing that the long gestating sequel is “officially underway” and that he is “feeling blessed and grateful to be playing Doug again.”
The sequel reunites much of the creative team behind the 2006 cult mockumentary Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon, including director Scott Glosserman and writer David J. Stieve. Nathan Baesel returns as the chatty, self mythologizing killer Leslie Vernon, with Angela Goethals back as documentary subject turned reporter Taylor Gentry and Robert Englund reprising his role as the wheelchair bound Dr. Halloran.
Joining the cast this time is David Howard Thornton, best known to modern slasher fans as Art the Clown from the Terrifier series, who takes on a key role in the story. Set twenty years after the original, the sequel reportedly finds Leslie refining his craft by studying the methods of Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees, now forced to contend with a new breed of killer who can go viral.
The filmmakers are targeting an October 27, 2027 premiere in Salem, Massachusetts, where they hope to pair the new film with the original for a hometown double feature, according to Pace. No distributor or wider release plan has been announced, and the plot details above should be treated as a working outline rather than a confirmed synopsis.
