Smile 3 has a new director: What David Bruckner’s arrival means for Parker Finn

David Bruckner will direct Smile 3 for Paramount, with Nick Antosca writing the screenplay, Deadline reported after the studio’s announcement on Wednesday, October 28. The change puts a new director behind the horror series while its creator, Parker Finn, remains involved.

Finn developed and pitched the framework for the third film and will produce it with Temple Hill, according to Deadline. Jonathan Fass is executive producer. Finn is directing Paramount’s remake of Possession, which explains why he is handing over the director’s chair after making the first two Smile films.

Who is making Smile 3?

The handover does not mean Finn has left the franchise. Variety also reported that he pitched the third film’s framework and will stay on as a producer. Finn has a first-look deal with Paramount and is directing its Possession remake, starring Callum Turner and Margaret Qualley, for a scheduled June 11, 2027 release.

Will Smile 3 bring back the earlier stars?

The cast is unclear, and plot details have not been revealed, Variety reported. The earlier films told separate stories with different leads: Sosie Bacon played a therapist haunted after witnessing a patient’s death in the first, while Naomi Scott played a pop singer facing disturbing events during a tour in the second. That history leaves open whether either star will return.

Paramount has a substantial box-office reason to continue the series. Variety put the original Smile at $217 million worldwide and Smile 2 at $139 million, taking the franchise above $350 million globally. The first film was initially commissioned for streaming before moving to cinemas; the sequel earned its worldwide total against a reported $28 million budget.