The 2012 horror-comedy The Cabin in the Woods, which holds an impressive 92% Rotten Tomatoes score, had the potential to be the best horror franchise of all time, and luckily, the film still can. The film follows five young adults who go to the тιтular cabin in the woods to get away. However, they quickly fall victim to a ritual meant to appease the Ancient Ones so they won’t start the apocalypse. Since its release, The Cabin in the Woods has become a cult classic due to its fun premise, talented actors, and epic ending.

Although films have tried to replicate and replace The Cabin in the Woods, nothing has captured the same magic for a good reason. The movie should’ve been a franchise from the start, carrying on the best elements of the film. Although it hasn’t happened in the past 13 years, filmmakers could still return to The Cabin in the Woods, creating more movies within the same world and story.

Cabin In The Woods Lists Its Potential Spinoffs On A Whiteboard

When the Facility is preparing for the attack on the cabin, they take bets on which monster the group will summon. It’s a fun way for employees at the Facility to blow off some steam, and they don’t actually control which of the totems the group activates. Outside of the Zombie Redneck Torture Family, 32 other monsters appear on the whiteboard in Cabin in the Woods that the group might have chosen. These include the following:

• Werewolf
• Alien beast
• Mutants
• Wraiths
• Zombies
• Reptilius
• Clowns
• Witches
• Sєxy witches
• Demons
• Hell lords
• Angry molesting trees
• Giant snake
• ᴅᴇᴀᴅites
• Kevin
• Mummy
• The Bride
• The scarecrow folk
• Snowman
• Dragonbat
• Vampires
• Dismembered goblins
• Sugarplum fairy
• Merman
• The reanimated
• Unicorn
• Huron
• Sasquatch/Wendigo/Yeti
• Dolls
• Jack O’Lantern
• Giants
• Twins

On top of those, 47 more monsters appear onscreen in Cabin in the Woods during the Purge. Almost any of these could serve as the antagonists in future installments of the franchise, so writers wouldn’t need to create something entirely from scratch. A sequel to The Cabin in the Woods obviously couldn’t include the ᴅᴇᴀᴅites or the Left 4 ᴅᴇᴀᴅ characters because of the rights issues, and they might not be able to do Fornicus, Lord of Bondage & Pain, as he’s a clear homage to Pinhead. However, the other creatures probably differ enough from their inspiration to be fair game.

The best options would depend significantly on the direction they want to go. If they preferred fan service, some of the most beloved creatures are the unicorn, the killer robot, and the merman. In addition to being favorites, they would be formidable foes. If they wanted to lean into current trends, better options would be the sugarplum fairy (which is similar to Abigail) or the Werewolf (which is similar to Wolf Man).

There’s also the option to solve some of the biggest monster mysteries in The Cabin in the Woods. In this case, the writers should go with the doctors, the snowman, or Kevin. The first option is shown onscreen, but their abilities and motivations aren’t evident. From the name alone, the snowman sounds like a childhood nightmare, and it’s never shown onscreen. Plus, we need to see Kevin in action. There are just too many question marks surrounding the ordinary human character who’s worthy of being considered a monster.

What Drew Goddard Said About A Cabin In The Woods Sequel

Although The Cabin in the Woods has all the framework for an incredible franchise, the creators of the movie seem reluctant to move forward with a sequel, based on comments by Drew Goddard. In an interview with Fandango, the co-creator revealed that they’d spoken about making a sequel; however, they ran into some issues.

Firstly, Goddard said they wrote themselves into a corner with the twist ending of The Cabin In The Woods. He told the interviewer, “It’s not a thing that calls for an easy sequel, I’ll tell you that much.” Secondly, Goddard worries that any sequel would undercut the impact of the ending. Dana and Marty’s decision to let the Ancient Ones end the world sends a distinct statement, and it would be a shame to undercut the message. Lastly, neither Joss Whedon nor Goddard wanted to make a sequel just for the sake of making a sequel.

Lucky for fans who hope to see a sequel, Goddard isn’t entirely closed off to the idea. He said, “I mean, look, I never say never, either.” Luckily, because of the nature of the story, there isn’t too much of a time limit on making a sequel. Most sequel, prequel, or spinoff ideas wouldn’t need to bring back Dana and Marty.

How A Cabin in the Woods Franchise Could Work After The Twist Ending

Since The Cabin in the Woods’ mysterious Ancient Ones come to wreak havoc on the earth in the final moments, it’s pretty widely ᴀssumed that the world’s ending. As such, the best options to build the franchise don’t involve moving forward in time. A second film could take a prequel approach, showing the audience more about the Ancient Ones and how the monsters came to be in the Facility. They could also show past rituals. While it would be more challenging to pull off knowing the characters get sacrificed, Goddard and Whedon have the storytelling abilities to create a good film.

Another more appealing option is to take an anthological approach to storytelling. They tease in The Cabin in the Woods that the rituals take place in other parts of the world and follow different rules. Future films in the franchise could show the ritual in various cultures around the world. If the filmmakers wanted to, they could even make their own monster universe, akin to the Universal Classic Monsters movies, infused with their witty and satirical commentary.

Why Now Is The Perfect Time To Make A Second Cabin In The Woods Movie

Although the 2012 movie always had the makings of a great horror franchise, now is arguably the perfect time for Cabin in the Woods 2. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, horror-comedy films have spiked in popularity, and the fanbase has only continued to grow. Great examples of this are M3GAN, Companion, Lisa Frankenstein, and Heart Eyes.

On top of this, Cabin in the Woods has specifically increased its fanbase because of the popularity of the whiteboard meme. Throughout the lockdown, the image was used in conjunction with the bizarre events that hit the headlines. Though the meme died down for a short period, the Cabin in the Woods whiteboard meme has started circulating again on social media in the past few months. Just like the Pepe Sylvia meme increased the popularity of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, the whiteboard meme could bring in a larger audience for Cabin in the Woods 2.