Christopher Landon’s new Blumhouse thriller Drop got a big reaction at its SXSW 2025 premiere. The movie tells the story of a widowed mother on her first date in years, whose night out becomes more and more of a nightmare as an anonymous person sends a series of horrifying Bluetooth drops to her phone. The movie’s screenplay was written by Jillian Jacobs and Christopher Roach, whose past collaborations include Fantasy Island.

Drop is led by The White Lotus‘ Meghann Fahy as the widowed mother Violet and Brandon Sklenar as her date Henry. ScreenRant’s glowing Drop review praises their performances, even saying that “the film rests firmly on [Fahy’s] shoulders.” Both Fahy and Sklenar had important jobs to do in grounding the film, as its тιԍнт setting (reminiscent of single-location movies like Phone Booth) focuses attention on characters and their struggles.

ScreenRant’s Liam Crowley interviewed Drop director Christopher Landon and stars Fahy and Sklenar at SXSW 2025 about what could be one of the festival’s biggest breakout hits. The creatives discussed their own experience with mysterious AirDrops, Landon’s return to Blumhouse, and the evolution of Drop’s characters throughout the movie. Plus, Sklenar shared his hopes for an eventual Happy Death Day 3.

Drop Came From The Producers’ Real-Life Experience

Producers Brad & Cameron Fuller Got Dropped

Drop may have been written by Jillian Jacobs and Christopher Roach, but its story was conceived by producers Brad and Cameron Fuller. “They were on vacation,” director Chris Landon revealed, “they were in a restaurant, and they started getting airdrops from somebody in the room. It became this whole game through the dinner where they were trying to figure out who was doing it. They never solved the mystery, but they walked away from that dinner feeling like there was a movie concept in there.”

That concept was relatable, too, as it turned out. Brandon Sklenar shared his own mysterious AirDrop experiences: “Someone took a pH๏τo of me from behind and then AirDropped me the pH๏τo. They’re watching you as they send you a pH๏τo of you.” Landon revealed that he had a similar experience, but it was not PG.

Violet Will “Turn Into A Superhero” By The End Of Drop

Meghann Fahy Takes Her Character From Inaction To Action

The Drop trailer reveals a Violet that is very nervous about her first date in a long time–so much so that she thinks about canceling. Violent reaches a different state by the end of the movie, revealed Meghann Fahy.

It’s really cool to watch her turn into a superhero by the end. What feels so good about it is that you’re watching this woman who, when you first meet her, is nervous, a little bit shy, and really unsure about the date and the idea of dating again, [because] she went through so much trauma with her prior relationship.

“To see her really drop”–no pun intended–”into her power and kick some major ᴀss…” Fahy continued, “There’s just such a good payoff in that.”

Brandon Sklenar Drops The Mic While Talking About Henry’s Attraction To Violet

Pun Absolutely Intended

Based on the rapport between the Drop cast and director, the set was a fun one to be on.

Following Fahy’s answer and speaking on what draws Henry to Violet and why he sticks around through the chaos of the story, he said, “Well, he really hasn’t dropped in with a woman in a long time. She’s drop-ᴅᴇᴀᴅ gorgeous, and he’s like, ‘I’ll drop anything I have to be with this person.’ And sitting there, he’s like, ‘When is the other shoe going to drop?’ I think it’s at that point [that] he thinks, ‘I’m going to marry this girl.’”

Chris Landon Shares His Hopes For Happy Death Day 3

He Teases A Big Change For A Potential Third Entry

Chris Landon is known in part for his work on fan-favorite films Happy Death Day and Happy Death Day 2U, but it was “a long time ago” that he pitched a third entry. Still, it’s on his mind, the director revealed: “I’ve had the idea for a long time. Jessica Rothe and I have talked about it a lot. The beauty is [that] it’s not set on the same day and it’s not in the same loop, so if the opportunity should ever arise–if Universal ever decides that they actually want a third, because the fans do… [I’m ready.]

Landon went on to say that a Happy Death Day 3 would feature characters from past films, then dropped an interesting tidbit: “What’s interesting is that each movie kind of introduced a slightly new genre that we mashed in there. The third movie brings in a whole other genre.”

Check out our other SXSW 2025 interviews here:

• The Ballad of Wallis Island
• Another Simple Favor
• American Sweatshop
• The Accountant 2
• Surviving Earth
• The Surrender
• The Threesome
• The Astronaut
• Hallow Road
• O’Dessa
• Sweetness
• The Studio
• It Ends
• How Was Your Weekend?
• Bella Ramsey & The Last of Us
• Pedro Pascal & The Last of Us

Source: Screen Rant Plus