Once upon a time, The Purge franchise felt like it existed wholly in the realm of fiction. But in the years since the first film has been released, The Purge‘s imagery of American run wild has begun to feel uncomfortably prescient. And in the wake of yesterday’s horrific attack on the US Capitol, anything Purge-related is probably going to come across as extra disturbing. But Blumhouse is invested in the franchise, and they already have a new Purge title in the can – The Forever Purge. The sequel was supposed to hit theaters last year but ended up being delayed due to COVID-19, but now it’s due out this year. And we have the first image and real plot details to go with it.

Last year it was reported that The Forever Purge would take “the Purge out of its usual metropolitan setting while still dealing with class and race issues in the way the previous films have.” Now, we have even more details, and an image, via Total Film. Honestly, after this week’s real-world events, the image isn’t that exciting, but hey, here it is anyway.

As for the plot details, the film takes place after the events of The Purge: Election Year, “(whereas The First Purge acted as a prequel to the 2013 original) and will center on Adela (Ana de la Reguera) and Juan (Tenoch Huerta), who find solace at a Texan ranch, having fled a drug cartel in Mexico. Things go awry when a group of outsiders decides to keep purging beyond the allotted time when people can break any and all laws.”

“It’s an amazing story of Latinos and Americans coming together to overcome despair and evil,” said director Everardo Gout. The Forever Purge cast includes Ana de la Reguera, Josh Lucas, Tenoch Huerta, Leven Rambin, Will Patton, and Cassidy Freeman, and by all accounts, this fifth entry is also going to be the last. “I think it’s a great way to end it all,” franchise creator James DeMonaco said in a previous interview. “We want to end it all, I think, in this one, and I’m very excited. When I came up with the idea and pitched it to everybody, they seemed psyched, and I think it will be a really cool ending, how we take this one home.”

If this really is the final entry, it would officially bring an end to all Purge-related material, as The Purge TV series ended in 2019. Will Blumhouse really let this money-making series go? I have my doubts, and wouldn’t be surprised if they went ahead and tried to reboot it in three or four years. In the meantime, The Forever Purge is scheduled to arrive on July 9, 2021.

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