{"id":36117,"date":"2025-09-25T00:46:08","date_gmt":"2025-09-25T00:46:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/36117\/"},"modified":"2025-09-25T00:46:08","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T00:46:08","slug":"the-strangers-chapter-2-star-madelaine-petsch-talks-movie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/36117\/","title":{"rendered":"The Strangers Chapter 2 Star Madelaine Petsch Talks Movie"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tWe\u2019ve all watched the credits to a movie and passed some degree of judgment when the star of the movie is also listed as a producer of some sort. We\u2019ll sometimes jump to the conclusion that it must be a vanity credit, one that was offered as sweetener in order to close an actor\u2019s deal. But in the case of Madelaine Petsch<\/a>\u2019s The Strangers<\/a> trilogy, her executive producer title is well-merited.<\/p>\n

\n\tOpening Sept. 26 in movie theaters, The Strangers: Chapters 2 once again chronicles Petsch\u2019s Maya as she\u2019s pursued across a small Oregon town by the titular serial killers. Petsch, along with director Renny Harlin and producer Courtney Solomon, managed to shoot an entire trilogy in just 52 days. That figure ultimately changed once they addressed fan criticism of Chapter 1, adding three-to-four weeks of additional filming on Chapter 2 and 3. But throughout each phase of photography, Petsch imposed her will in order to better the product on the screen.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI did not have the credit at first. I came on set and said, \u2018Hey guys, would you be willing to listen to [some script thoughts]?\u2019\u201d Petsch tells The Hollywood Reporter. \u201cAnd that ultimately became [producer] Courtney Solomon and I editing the script every day after set, going through shot lists with Renny [Harlin] and being more sewn into the fabric of the story in a producorial way. So they offered me the EP credit; it was not a vanity credit that I got.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tPetsch adds that vanity credits are often a necessity for smaller productions.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cUsually, they\u2019ll do that to pay actors less money because they don\u2019t have a lot of money,\u201d Petsch says. \u201cThey\u2019ll be like, \u2018We\u2019ll give you an EP credit, which will help you, but it\u2019s a vanity credit.\u2019 So I got offered this credit because I was actually doing the work.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBelow, during a recent conversation with THR, Petsch also previews the concluding chapter of her Strangers trilogy and why she hopes it\u2019ll break the fall release pattern of Chapter 1 and 2.<\/p>\n

\n\t***<\/p>\n

\n\tWhen we spoke last year for The Strangers: Chapter 1<\/a>, I asked you what scene will likely linger for years to come, and you said you\u2019d tell me after I saw Chapter II. Was it the wild boar sequence?\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tThat\u2019s the one!\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tI have a feeling that the boar sequence is really important to Maya\u2019s overall arc. Am I correct or incorrect to draw that conclusion?<\/p>\n

\n\tYeah, you\u2019re very, very, very, very correct in that conclusion.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tMadelaine Petsch as Maya in The Strangers: Chapter 2<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Lionsgate<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat struck me most about Chapter 2 is how little dialogue there is. It\u2019s partly the nature of Maya being alone and on the run from silent attackers. Does no dialogue make your job all the more difficult, since you have to sell each moment physically?<\/p>\n

\n\tThere\u2019s pros and cons to it. It definitely is more challenging because you just don\u2019t really do it that often in this industry. You either have a scene partner to do no dialogue off of, giving you something to react to, or you\u2019ve got dialogue to rely on. I would say there\u2019s probably an hour of this film with no dialogue in it, and it\u2019s just a different challenge that\u2019s not done very often. So there\u2019s definitely pros and cons to both, and it\u2019s really fun to flex that muscle.<\/p>\n

\n\tFor example, there\u2019s an interesting moment where she silently takes inventory of her wounds and scars in front of a mirror. What was on your mind in that moment?<\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s the first time that Maya sees herself and sees the physical manifestation of everything she\u2019s been through. It\u2019s the moment where it all hits her. It\u2019s like, \u201cThis is my reality now.\u201d When you\u2019re in this state of fight or flight, and survival, you\u2019re not really thinking, \u201cI can\u2019t believe this is happening to me.\u201d You\u2019re just thinking, \u201cI\u2019ve got to survive.\u201d So in that moment when she stops and catches herself in the mirror, she\u2019s taking inventory of every single attack and every single thing she\u2019s been through in the last 24-to-48 hours that has changed her innately as a human being. And ultimately, I think she is, in real time, saying goodbye to that final piece of humanity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tLionsgate released a clip<\/a> of the morgue scene where Maya encounters her deceased fianc\u00e9 (Froy Gutierrez\u2019s Ryan). Was that dummy Froy? Or real Froy?<\/p>\n

\n\tReal Froy! He\u2019s very good at being still. It wasn\u2019t as weird as you might think. It really didn\u2019t affect us at all. When you\u2019re shooting a movie like this, that\u2019s the least of your concerns.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tMadelaine Petsch as Maya in The Strangers: Chapter 2<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLionsgate<\/p>\n

\n\tYou told me previously that you helped punch up the 278-page script for all three chapters and suggested scenes like the shower scene in Chapter 1. Was that your way of making the most of your EP credit?\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tI actually did not have the credit at first. I was asked to be an actor in the film, and I wholeheartedly said yes. I then came on set and said, \u201cHey guys, I have some script thoughts. Would you be willing to listen to them?\u201d And that ultimately became [producer] Courtney Solomon and I editing the script every day after set, going through shot lists with Renny [Harlin] and being more sewn into the fabric of the story in a producorial way. So they offered me the EP credit; it was not a vanity credit that I got. Usually, they\u2019ll do that to pay actors less money because they don\u2019t have a lot of money. They\u2019ll be like, \u201cWe\u2019ll give you an EP credit, which will help you, but it\u2019s a vanity credit.\u201d So I got offered this credit because I was actually doing the work.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tThe financial success of Chapter 1 afforded you and your team 23-to-28 days of additional photography. Are you glad that you got to go back and fine tune Chapter 2 and 3?<\/p>\n

\n\tAbsolutely. It made both films amazing and way stronger. Chapter 2 had 8 days [of additional photography] and Chapter 3 had 15.<\/p>\n

\n\tThere\u2019s a trailer for Chapter 3 in the mid-credits of Chapter 2, and there\u2019s a very tantalizing glimpse at what\u2019s to come. What\u2019s your best elevator pitch for Chapter 3?<\/p>\n

\n\tChapter 3 is a face-off between the two main characters where you start struggling with the idea of who the protagonist is and who the antagonist really is.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tThe trailer has a moment where my jaw dropped about what was revealed, but then I noticed a little detail that made me second-guess what I saw. So I\u2019m very curious how everything is going to shake out.<\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s so funny because somebody else brought that moment up and didn\u2019t notice that, so I was like, \u201cGo back and watch her wrists again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tDo you expect Chapter 3 to follow the fall release pattern of Chapter 1 and 2?<\/p>\n

\n\tIf it [goes] our way, then hopefully it\u2019ll be sooner. That would be the goal. It is basically done. But it\u2019s about whatever Lionsgate feels and what fits into their release schedule the best. It\u2019s also about what other movies are already releasing during those weekends, so that\u2019s up to the Lionsgate Gods. All I know is that we are done, and we are ready to show it as soon as possible.<\/p>\n

\n\tAt the Chapter 1 premiere, your former Riverdale castmates, Lili Reinhart and Camila Mendes, showed up to support you, and I thought that was a really lovely gesture. It\u2019s so easy to lose track of friends as time passes, so did the three of you make a pact to not let that happen?<\/p>\n

\n\tThose two girls are still my absolute best friends in the whole world. It can go one of two ways when you shoot a show like that, and it went the right way with us. We all came up together in a really intense environment, having shot up to a world that we\u2019d never been in before: fame and a successful TV show. We had each other to constantly lean on in any scenario. We still call each other to be like, \u201cI am doing this movie. Have you heard of this director?\u201d And someone will say, \u201cOh, I met with him.\u201d And someone will ask, \u201cWhat was your experience like?\u201d We\u2019re a unit. No matter what we do or where we are, we always support each other. It\u2019s rare in Hollywood to find people who don\u2019t feel competitive with you and support you so unabashedly, so I\u2019m really lucky to have found my people.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t(L-R) Lili Reinhart, Madelaine Petsch, and Camila Mendes attend \u201cThe Strangers: Chapter 1\u201d Los Angeles Premiere at Regal LA Live on May 08, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJon Kopaloff\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

\n\tYou also starred in and EP\u2019d a romcom that\u2019s coming out on Oct. 8. Was Maintenance Required meant to be a palate cleanser after all the fictional trauma you endured in your Strangers trilogy?<\/p>\n

\n\t(Laughs.) It was not meant to be a palate cleanser. I like variety. Variety is the spice of life. I think actors want to do everything, at least I do. So I love the idea of being in an Amazon romcom where I get to play a mechanic and do something completely different. As an artist, it was just fun, and I think it\u2019ll be fun for audiences. I never knew they were going to come out this close together, to be honest. But I think it\u2019ll be fun for audiences to be able to go see me in this horror film \u2014\u00a0and go through the PTSD of it \u2014\u00a0before coming home to cuddle up and watch something that\u2019s sweet and cozy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t***
The Strangers: Chapter 2 opens Sept. 26 in movie theaters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We\u2019ve all watched the credits to a movie and passed some degree of judgment when the star of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":36118,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[458,146,85,46,29712,29713,29714,29715,29716],"class_list":{"0":"post-36117","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrities","8":"tag-celebrities","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-il","11":"tag-israel","12":"tag-madelaine-petsch","13":"tag-the-strangers","14":"tag-the-strangers-chapter-1","15":"tag-the-strangers-chapter-2","16":"tag-the-strangers-chapter-3"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36117","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36117"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36117\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36118"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}