Frank Grillo Confirmed To Return For Purge 6 | Screen Rant
American actor, Frank Grillo, has confirmed that he will be returning to The Purge franchise in an upcoming, as yet untitled, 6th Purge movie. The Purge is a 2013 dystopian action-horror home invasion movie that follows a wealthy family targeted by a group of criminals on a single night known as the "Purge," where all crime is temporarily legal. The movie became an unexpected sleeper hit, grossing almost $90 million off a budget of just $3 million, and has developed into a signature franchise for Blumhouse Productions. In addition to a TV series spinoff, there have been 4 sequels to the original movie, The Purge: Anarchy (2014), The Purge: Election Year (2016), The First Purge (2018), and the most recent installment, 2021's The Forever Purge.
Grillo first appeared in the sequel to the original Purge movie, The Purge: Anarchy, starring as Sergeant Leo Barnes, a cop who leaves the house on "Purge" night to try to find the man who killed his son. The character proved to be popular with audiences, to the point where Grillo was called back to appear in the follow up, The Purge: Election Year, in the same role. The franchise represented Grillo's second box office franchise, after he appeared as Crossbones in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 56-year-old Grillo has enjoyed a rich and varied career since his feature film debut in 1992's The Mambo Kings, and can most recently be seen starring opposite Gerard Butler in Joe Carnahan action-thriller, Copshop. Grillo is beloved for his role in the Purge movies, and his performances in the films have earned him widespread acclaim from both fans and critics.
With the fifth Purge movie intended to be the final installment in the franchise, it was not expected that there would be another installment. As such, it would have come as a big surprise to many of the fans of the franchise to learn of Grillo's comments. In a recent interview on The Playlist Podcast, Grillo confirmed that he would be returning for an upcoming sixth Purge movie, and that a script for the movie has been completed. Read Grillo's comments below:
"Committed! We committed to doing that— ‘Purge 6’ with [James DeMonaco] directing,” said Grillo. “It’s based on the Leo Barnes character. I’m excited. He’s going to send me the script. He just finished it. So, yeah, I’m really psyched about that. I love doing the ‘Purge’ movies…I’m psyched, they called me and said James wanted to direct one more and I’m like, ‘Don’t even tell me. I’m in.’"
The first Purge movie took place entirely in a house, whilst the subsequent sequels have become vaster in scope and budget, and they have been used to explore a variety of social issues. While critical reviews have been mixed, the movies have continued to perform well at the box office and have developed something of a cult following. The sixth Purge movie, should it get made, will focus on Grillo's character Leo Barnes, though it's unclear as yet what the storyline might be for the movie. It is possible that the movie could include elements from the plot for the scrapped season 3 of the TV show.
Grillo had always expressed an interest in returning to the franchise, and this gives him the opportunity to do so after a two-film absence. How far along in the pre-production process the movie is remains unclear, and this is something that fans will likely receive more clarity on in the coming months. But it is clear that Grillo is on board and seems to be happy with the screenplay, showing excitement at getting the chance to revisit the character and franchise again. Judging by the financial success of the earlier movies, it seems likely that this will be another installment of The Purge franchise to enjoy a cinematic release.
Source: The Playlist Podcast