Lukas Gage twists face into disturbing grin in bloody “Smile 2” preview
The horrors of "Smile" are back in the first trailer for the highly anticipated sequel starring Naomi Scott, Kyle Gallner, and Rosemarie DeWitt.
If you thought you'd seen all sides of Lukas Gage after the actor's infamous White Lotus scene with Murray Bartlett, buckle up for the new Smile 2 trailer.
The first preview for the highly anticipated horror sequel sees Gage twist his face into a disturbing grin — recalling the terrifying contortion that preceded many grisly deaths in the original 2022 film.
Smile 2 follows pop star Skye Riley (Naomi Scott), who has a horrifying brush with the first film's cursed entity after she performs for a packed concert venue, and later encounters a companion (Gage) running and screaming from a dark corridor. He eventually calms down as a toothy smile washes over his face, and he begins hitting himself in the face with a heavy weight plate.
If the entity from the first film is indeed the same one that returns in the sequel, the film's lore tells us that the curse is now "latched on" to Skye, as another person tells the singer in the clip.
Skye's encounter with the entity — which forces its victims to kill themselves in horrific ways — leads to several scary moments elsewhere in the preview, including a scene where she loses it over attendees smiling at her in a crowded banquet hall.
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Related: A restroom offers no rest from terror in Smile deleted scene
The trailer ends after a man is hit by a car, which leaves a bloody trail in the shape of a smile. The clip then cuts to Skye attempting to sign an autograph for a red-headed child, whose lips curl up throughout the full exchange.
Director Parker Finn's first Smile movie was a runaway success at the box office in 2022, grossing $217 million on a modest $17 million budget, and earned positive critical reviews for its story and lead actress Sosie Bacon's performance.
Smile 2 — also starring Kyle Gallner, Raúl Castillo, and Rosemarie DeWitt — is in theaters on Oct. 18. Watch the first trailer above.
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