Escape Room: Tournament of Champions Comes to Theaters July 16
Next Friday, July 16, the thrilling sequel to the 2019 psychological horror movie Escape Room heads to theaters.
Escape Room: Tournament of Champions has been fighting its way to release since early 2020. Like many movies during COVID, it was forced to delay filming and postpone release dates for months, but the Escape Room sequel’s record is particularly impressive. Originally slotted for April 17, 2020, it was pushed almost immediately to January 1, 2021. Eventually, it was delayed over a year to January 7, 2022, and was finally moved back to where it now stands; July 16, 2021, to capitalize on the summer movie season.
The original Escape Room turned out to be a hit for Sony Pictures, grossing over $155 million on a $9 million budget. It follows six strangers brought together for the thrill of a highly immersive escape room with a hefty cash prize if they are able to complete it. It is not long before they discover they have been made pawns of a sadistic game of life and death. Most of the cast will not be reappearing in the second film, although Taylor Russel and Logan Miller will be returning for their roles of Zoey and Ben, respectively.
In addition to Russel and Miller’s fan-favorite roles, several new characters are introduced. A faith-shaken priest (Thomas Cocquerel), a woman unable to feel physical pain (Holland Roden), an alpha male (Carlito Olivero), and a social media influencer (Indya Moore) join the previous winners in the PTSD-inducing whirlwind of life-or-death situations.
Escape Room: Tournament of Champions players fight to outwit the game
Escape Room: Tournament of Champions follows in the footsteps of its prequel, set around a group of people who, this time, find themselves unwillingly back in the Minos Corporation game. Soon, the players realize that they have all played (and won) a Minos escape room before, and paranoia runs deep as the thought of the evil puppet master controlling the game looms over them.
The latest trailer of the upcoming film advertises the skill of screenwriters Will Honley, Daniel Tuch, Orien Uziel, and 2019’s Escape Room writer Maria Melnik as it previews some of the rooms these champions must outwit to survive. Director Adam Robitel returns to helm the production, who has made it clear that those who want to watch from home will have to wait, as he is firm about wanting the film to be enjoyed to its fullest potential in a dark theater with big visuals and surround sound.
Featuring outstanding production design and unmatched creativity, Escape Room: Tournament of Champions appears to be well worth the wait.