Maika Monroe Open to Returning to The Guest Universe

Maika Monroe became a modern scream queen after a breakout 2014, when she starred in It Follows and The Guest. She has continued to work in horror, appearing in films from Longlegs to Victorian Psycho.

Both of her 2014 films have returned to the horror conversation this year. The It Follows sequel, They Follow, recently wrapped, while The Guest received a quasi-sequel in Onslaught. Director Adam Wingard set the new film in the same continuity as The Guest.

Monroe does not appear in Onslaught, which has no returning characters. Asked in a recent interview for her upcoming film Victorian Psycho whether she might return to the world of The Guest, she sounded hopeful about working with Wingard again.

“I love Adam so much,” she tells Polygon. “We grabbed coffee not too long ago, and he’s awesome, so I would love to work with him again, so we’ll see.”

The connection between The Guest and Onslaught

The Guest remains one of Wingard’s most beloved films. The director’s credits also include Godzilla vs. Kong. Written by Simon Barrett, The Guest stars Monroe and Dan Stevens.

Stevens plays David, a charming visitor who arrives at the Peterson family home. He says he is an army veteran and was a close friend of the Petersons’ son, who died while serving in Afghanistan. David becomes part of the grieving family as strange and violent events unfold around town. Monroe plays Anna, the family’s eldest daughter, who grows suspicious of his behavior and past. The film was one of Stevens’ first unsettling roles, an edge that has since become a defining part of his career.

Onslaught, released earlier this year, reunited Wingard and Barrett. Their long partnership also includes A Horrible Way to Die, You’re Next and the V/H/S franchise.

Adria Arjona stars as an army veteran with PTSD who must defend her daughter and community from three Terminator-like army experiments that have escaped a nearby facility.

Stevens plays Dr. Hans Kammler, an aging German scientist with Nazi ties who masterminded the super-soldiers pursuing her. Wingard confirmed that Onslaught takes place near the town featured in The Guest. Both films belong to his and Barrett’s “KPG-verse,” named for the shadowy organization that runs the super-soldier experiments and appears in several of their projects.

What’s next for the KPG-verse?

Although Stevens plays different characters in the two films, Wingard has suggested they might be connected. “I think he’s related to the genesis of the David character in some form [or] fashion, and I think that’s something that maybe we’ll more literally explore hopefully in future installments,” he told The Wrap.

Stevens is open to further exploring the universe. “We’re definitely open to more KPG-verse. I don’t know whether a Guest 2, per se, is on the cards anytime soon, but you never know,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. “We’ve teed everything up for an Onslaught sequel as well, so watch this space.”

A future film could continue David and Anna’s stories or explore another part of the shared universe. Wingard and Stevens have expressed interest in returning to it, and Monroe says she would love to work with Wingard again.

Source: Polygon