The long-rumored What We Do in the Shadows sequel is finally doing more than collecting dust. At the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, Jemaine Clement said he and Taika Waititi have started writing the script, turning years of vague talk into an actual project with pages, not just nostalgia.
That matters because the original film was a tiny, $1.6 million, improv-heavy vampire comedy that became a global hit and later spun off a six-season TV series. Few comedy properties get that kind of second life, and even fewer manage to keep the joke alive without looking like they are chasing their own shadow. So, yes, this sequel has both a built-in audience and a high bar to clear.
Jemaine Clement says the What We Do in the Shadows sequel is underway
Clement described the writing as something that had been discussed for a long time and only recently turned into real work. The update is modest, but after nearly a decade of chatter, modest is still progress. Hollywood loves a sequel in theory; getting one onto the page is often the hardest part.
He also hinted that the process is collaborative and informal, which fits the original film’s offbeat DNA. If the pair can recapture even a fraction of the first movie’s deadpan rhythm, they may have a rare franchise sequel that feels fresh instead of franchised.
The We’re Wolves title suggests a werewolf-led sequel
Earlier comments from Waititi and Clement suggested the new film would shift focus away from the vampires and toward the werewolves led by Anton, played by Rhys Darby. The working title is ”We’re Wolves”, which is exactly the sort of title that tells you whether the people involved are still having fun.
That pivot makes sense. The vampire gag has already powered a feature film and a long-running series, so a sequel needs a different engine, not just a bigger coffin. A werewolf-led story could give the creators room to reset the joke without pretending the original never happened.
Taika Waititi’s next film is set for September 2026
Waititi’s calendar is not exactly empty. His fantasy drama ”Klara and the Sun”, starring Jenna Ortega, is scheduled for September 2026. That makes the sequel update feel less like a finished announcement and more like the start of a scheduling puzzle, which is often how cult projects either stall or survive.
The next question is whether the team can preserve the first film’s scrappy charm while building something that justifies a return after so many false starts. If they can, ”We’re Wolves” could be one of those rare sequels people actually wanted, rather than the one a studio thought it could sell.