Don’t Breathe 2 filmmakers discuss sequel controversy: exclusive

The Blind Man in Don't Breath 2
(Image credit: Sony Pictures)

Don’t Breathe’s final scene hinted at another showdown between surviving burglar Rocky (Jane Levy) and The Blind Man/ Norman Nordstrom (Stephen Lang).

Don’t Breathe 2, however, focuses solely on the latter, positioning him as the protector of an 11-year-old girl (Madelyn Grace) who’s been targeted by a group of thugs – a decision that hasn’t gone down smoothly with all genre fans given the character’s history of kidnapping, murder and sexual assault.

But producer Álvarez – who hands over directing duties to co-writer Rodo Sayagues – isn’t afraid of backlash, as he tells Total Film magazine in their new issue, which is out now. You can see an exclusive image from the sequel via Total Film here:

Don't Breathe 2

(Image credit: Sony)

“We like to fuck with people,” Álvarez tells Total Film, noting the reaction to the film’s first teaser. “We want to show that things are not black and white. People are concerned he’s an antihero? Shows like Game of Thrones drive you mad with empathy for bad people. He’s more of an anti-villain. He may think he’s not, or do some things that’ll make him escape it temporarily, but he is. He’s a shadow character, not so much the protagonist. There’s so much more to the story.”

“It just makes everything unpredictable,” director Sayagues adds. “If it’s clear who the good guys and bad guys are, you know who’s gonna make it, right?”

Don’t Breathe 2 opens in the US and the UK on August 13. For much more on the film, be sure to check out the new issue of Total Film, which is on sale now. Check out the covers below:

Total Film's Halloween Kills issue.

(Image credit: Total Film/Universal)

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(Image credit: Total Film)
Matt Maytum
Editor, Total Film

I'm the Editor at Total Film magazine, overseeing the running of the mag, and generally obsessing over all things Nolan, Kubrick and Pixar. Over the past decade I've worked in various roles for TF online and in print, including at GamesRadar+, and you can often hear me nattering on the Inside Total Film podcast. Bucket-list-ticking career highlights have included reporting from the set of Tenet and Avengers: Infinity War, as well as covering Comic-Con, TIFF and the Sundance Film Festival.