Happy Death Day 3 director Christopher Landon reveals a key difference in the upcoming sequel and why it took six years to get greenlit. The upcoming Happy Death Day 3 was officially confirmed to be moving forward in April 2025, with both Landon – who directed the previous two movies – and series star Jessica Rothe revealing its development. This comes six years after the previous movie in the series, Happy Death Day 2U, came out in theaters, becoming both a box office success and earning positive critical reception.

Speaking with ScreenRant while promoting his upcoming thriller Drop, Landon explained how conversations with Blumhouse led to Happy Death Day 3 entering development six years after the previous movie came out. The director also revealed that a real-world time jump works better for the idea the film will be exploring, confirming the sequel is “not part of the first two movies’ time loop.” Speaking about Rothe’s return, he illustrated how excited they both are about the continuation. Check out what Landon had to say below:

I know! It was one of those things where I was able to start the conversation again with Blumhouse, and specifically with Jason [Blum], and everyone kind of agreed. It felt like it was time and that we could figure this out, and that there were enough fans — there’s so many fans of the two movies, which I love. And, the idea that I’ve had for the movie strangely works better with the more pᴀssage of time, because it’s not set in the same day, right? It’s not part of the first two movies’ time loop. And so yeah, Jess and I are just really excited to be able to start thinking about this again.

What Landon’s Statement Says About Happy Death Day 3

A New Time Loop Is Starting To Take Shape

Happy Death Day 2U ended by revealing the idenтιтy of the new Babyface Killers and closing the time loop that caused the events of both movies. However, it still left some parts of its story unresolved, such as a second version of Ryan (Phi Vu) who disappeared at the end of the movie. Happy Death Day 2U‘s post-credits scene also hinted at what the next movie could be about, with DARPA recruiting Tree (Rother) to do experiments on the loops, using Danielle (Rachel Matthews) as a test subject.

It’s unclear if these story beats will be resolved in the upcoming sequel, but it sounds like the new loop relies on the surviving characters being older. Since a time skip is in order, the sequel could explain what DARPA has discovered about the time loops, one of their new experiments potentially being a lead-in for the premise. Landon has previously explained one story for Happy Death Day 3 would involve an apocalyptic scenario, although it’s unclear if this will still be the case for the sequel that’s been greenlit.

Our Take On Happy Death Day 3’s Upcoming Story

Some Big Differences Might Be In Store

With Landon’s previous ideas for the sequel coupled with it happening outside the original duology’s time loop, it sounds like some wild changes are in store for Happy Death Day 3. Since Tree is presumably working with DARPA on testing the reactor and how it creates time loops, the movie could see the loops happening on a larger scale than ever before. What this means for the story itself, however, is unclear, including whether a Babyface Killer will be the antagonist, or if a new threat arrives.