We have the first trailer for The Forever Purge. This is the fifth, and supposedly final, entry in the long-running, highly successful horror franchise. It will be picking up in the aftermath of 2016's The Purge Election Year, as 2018's The First Purge was a prequel. And it will be sending us off with something radically different than what has come before. Yes, there is still going to be lots of killing, it seems, though it may not be sanctioned by the government, as it has been in the past.

The Purge, released in 2013, introduced us to the franchise's central question; what if the government made all crime legal, once per year, for 12 hours? We've now explored that for four movies. The Purge 5, meanwhile, is going to ask a different question; what happens if the government tries to take that sanctioned violence away? It may be easier said than done.

It had previously been revealed that this R-rated installment will see a world in which the annual Purge has been abolished. But that's clearly not going to stop everyone from participating.The Forever Purge centers on Adela (Ana de la Reguera) and Juan (Tenoch Huerta). They have settled together on a ranch in Texas after fleeing a drug cartel in Mexico. But things go south when a group of outsiders try to keep The Purge going beyond the allotted time.

Along with Leven Rambin (True Detective), Will Patton (Halloween) and Cassidy Freeman (Longmire) also star. The movie was written by franchise creator James DeMonaco, who also directed the first three installments. Everardo Gout is in the director's chair this time. He previously helmed the award-winning thriller Days of Grace. Gout is also known for his work on TV shows such as Marvel's Luke Cage and Mars. Gerard McMurray directed The First Purge. It isn't clear why he didn't return for another go-around, be it his choice, the studio's, or a mutual decision.

This will be the first installment of the series to hit theaters since The First Purge in 2018. The prequel became the highest-grossing entry in the series to date, taking in $137 million worldwide. This entry would have arrived earlier but, like many other movies, it was delayed several times by the pandemic. Blumhouse Productions and Platinum Dunes return to produce the movie. Jason Blum, Michael Bay, Andrew Form, Brad Fuller, DeMonaco and Sebastien K. Lemercier are on board as producers. Marcei A. Brown, Couper Samuelson and Jeanette Volturno serve as executive producers.

To date, across four movies, the franchise has earned $498 million at the box office. This is especially impressive considering that the budgets were all $13 million or less. $3 million in the case of the first movie. A spin-off TV show, simply titled The Purge, also aired for two seasons on USA Network. But, if the filmmakers are to be believed, this will be the end of the road. But money talks and horror franchises rarely die for good. So we'll see if that sticks. The Forever Purge hits theaters on July 2 from Blumhouse Productions and Universal Pictures. Be sure to check out the trailer for yourself.