Final Destination 7 Moves Forward at New Line with Bloodlines Co-Writer Lori Evans Taylor
New Line Cinema is officially setting the wheels in motion for Final Destination 7, with seasoned screenwriter Lori Evans Taylor tapped to pen the script. Taylor, who co-wrote the franchise’s most recent entry Final Destination: Bloodlines, is returning to craft the next chapter in the long-running horror saga.
The news comes as little surprise to industry watchers. Bloodlines was both a critical and commercial triumph, earning an impressive $286 million at the global box office — the highest total in the series to date — while also garnering the strongest reviews the franchise has ever received. The film was co-written by Taylor and Guy Busick, working from a story conceived by Taylor, Busick, and Spider-Man: No Way Home director Jon Watts. Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein helmed the film, delivering a visually inventive and narratively satisfying entry that reinvigorated the property.
Franchise veteran Craig Perry will once again serve as producer, joined by Shelia Hanahan Taylor, Jon Watts, Dianne McGunigle, and Toby Emmerich.
The official synopsis for Bloodlines teased a fresh spin on the series’ core concept:
“The newest chapter in New Line Cinema’s bloody successful franchise takes audiences back to the very beginning of Death’s twisted sense of justice. Plagued by a violent recurring nightmare, college student Stefanie heads home to track down the one person who might be able to break the cycle and save her family from the grisly demise that inevitably awaits them all.”
The film’s cast included Kaitlyn Santa Juana, Teo Briones, Richard Harmon, Owen Patrick Joyner, Anna Lore, Brec Bassinger, and the late Tony Todd. Todd, a genre icon and fan favorite for his role as the enigmatic William Bludworth, did not appear in every Final Destination film, but his ominous presence became a hallmark of the series. Bloodlines gave his character a fitting farewell, making his absence in the upcoming seventh installment all the more poignant for long-time fans.
A Legacy of Death’s Design
Since its debut in 2000, the Final Destination series has stood apart from other horror franchises by focusing less on a masked killer and more on the inevitability of fate itself. The films center on a recurring formula: a character experiences a vivid premonition of a catastrophic event, manages to save themselves and others, and then watches as Death systematically reclaims each survivor through a series of elaborate, often Rube Goldberg–style accidents.
The original Final Destination, directed by James Wong and starring Devon Sawa and Ali Larter, was a surprise hit, grossing over $112 million worldwide and spawning a sequel just three years later. Final Destination 2 (2003) expanded the mythology, introduced larger-scale set pieces, and solidified the franchise’s signature blend of suspense, dark humor, and creatively staged fatalities.
Subsequent entries — Final Destination 3 (2006), The Final Destination (2009), and Final Destination 5 (2011) — continued to push the boundaries of spectacle, with Final Destination 5 cleverly looping back to tie directly into the events of the first film.
After a decade-long hiatus, Bloodlines reignited the franchise with a fresh narrative hook and a deeper dive into the rules of Death’s “design.” Its success proved that, even after more than two decades, audiences are still captivated by the series’ inventive kills and philosophical musings on fate versus free will.
Looking Ahead to Final Destination 7
While plot details for the seventh installment remain tightly under wraps, Taylor’s return to the writer’s chair suggests New Line is aiming to preserve the momentum generated by Bloodlines. Given the franchise’s history of high-concept openings and increasingly elaborate death sequences, expectations are already running high.
Producers have yet to announce a release date or casting news, but with the creative team from Bloodlines still involved, fans can likely anticipate another mix of shocking set pieces, tension-laden suspense, and the franchise’s trademark macabre wit.
Whether Final Destination 7 will further explore the origins of Death’s design — as Bloodlines began to do — or chart a new course entirely, one thing is certain: in this universe, cheating Death is never the end of the story.
News courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter
