What could happen in Ready or Not 2?

Horror fans got a real treat this week with the official announcement of the long-mooted slasher sequel Ready Or Not 2. Scream queen extraordinaire Samara Weaving will return as her character from the first film, with directorial duo Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett — aka Radio Silence — also back in the saddle.

The first film was a joyous slice of slasher silliness with some great scares and a terrific, all-action performance by Weaving as Grace. She marries into the ultra-rich Le Domas family and discovers they have a weird wedding night tradition new family members must play a randomly selected game. If they draw the "hide and seek" card, the family must ritually sacrifice them by dawn.

Note: There are lots of spoilers ahead for Ready Or Not.

Ready Or Not concludes with one of the most ballsy and absurd endings in modern horror history, but it's fair to say that it didn't exactly leave a lot of road for a sequel to skip along. But let's try to read some of the tea leaves and work out where the story might go for Grace and whether we'll ever get an attire as cool as her tooled-up wedding dress.

The Survivor

At the end of Ready Or Not, the Le Domas family falls victim to the curse slapped upon them in exchange for riches. They fail to sacrifice Grace by dawn, which means that each of the family members graphically and bloodily explodes, showering Grace in gore and bits of her in-laws. For that reason, it's tough to imagine this story continuing.

Read more: Abigail contains a Ready or Not connection you might have missed (Digital Spy)

However, the most obvious way to keep Grace's story and that of the Le Domas curse going is for there to be another survivor. Perhaps a long-estranged member of the Le Domas clan somehow avoided the explosive aftermath of the curse and has taken up the family's deal with the devil, subsequently achieving immense success.

This puts them on a collision course with Grace. Perhaps she tracks them down in an attempt to remove the demonic Le Bail's vile influence from the world forever, or alternatively they could be directed by Le Bail to complete the sacrifice and tie up a loose end.

The Demon

Alternatively, it's possible that Le Bail could decide to follow Thanos's approach and decide to do the job himself. He appeared to Grace in the wake of the Le Domas family's explosion and seemed to greet her with a nod of approval. But perhaps this nod wasn't approving at all. Le Bail was telling Grace that he is aware of her and knows her face.

Read more: Ready or Not Samara Weaving interview: Grace is a 'Final Woman' not a 'Final Girl' (Yahoo Entertainment)

Le Bail won't want to lose the grip on the real world he was able to exert through the Le Domas family and that means he could well go after Grace. She managed to take down one family of heavily-armed posh folk, but can she take on a being who is almost certainly the actual devil? That's fertile ground for a sequel story.

Alternatively, Le Bail could enlist Grace as his new ally. Does she want some of the success that the Le Domas family once had? After all, she's technically a member of that family and could position herself to take over their successful business. Inevitably, though, any deal would come with a catch.

Another Family

It wouldn't be a surprise to learn that Le Bail hedged his demonic bets somewhat. If he had agreed to increase the fortunes of other families as well in exchange for a ritual sacrifice, then Grace might not be the last potential victim of a massacre in the demon's name.

In the wake of Grace's survival, she could serve as something of an avenger, chasing down wealthy families who owe their success to a legacy of murder. The idea of Weaving's badass hero exploding a whole new raft of rich psychopaths is a very exciting and potentially fun one. It also opens up the franchise for a long and fruitful future beyond this sequel.

Read more: ‘Ready or Not’ Set for a Sequel Starring Samara Weaving (Variety)

Whether one of these ideas comes to fruition or the Radio Silence guys are cooking up something else entirely, Ready Or Not 2 is one of the most exciting horror sequel announcements in a long time. If they can replicate even half of the gleeful anarchy of the first film, it will be a joyful slice of grisly chaos.

Ready Or Not 2 is currently in development, but does not yet have a release date.