Producers Ant Timpson, Tim League, and the Wagner/Cuban Company's Magnet Releasing announced today the production of ABCs of Death 2, a high energy sequel to the 2012 anthology hit that delivers 26 new dark tales from the industry's most celebrated genre directors. Taking all that was great from the first installment, ABCs of Death 2 aims to be a wilder, leaner, faster paced and even more entertaining anthology this time around, with a new crop of award-winning, visionary filmmakers from around the globe.

In a significant departure from the first installment, ABCs of Death 2 is expanding beyond horror directors. The sequel's new roster includes Goya Award winner Álex de la Iglesia (The Last Circus, Oxford Murders); Room 237 mastermind Rodney Ascher; Academy Award-nominated animator Bill Plympton; Filipino icon - and Director's Fortnight inductee - Erik Matti (Exodus: Tales from the Enchanted Kingdom); and the founder of Nigerian "Nollywood" cinema Lancelot Oduwa Imasuen.

Additional confirmed filmmakers include Lithuania's Kristina Buozyte and Bruno Samper (Vanishing Waves), Japan's arthouse provocateur Shion Sono (Cold Fish, Suicide Club), Splice and Cube's Vincenzo Natali, indie horror icon Larry Fessenden (The Last Winter), The Collection's Marcus Dunstan, France's Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo (Inside, Livid), E.L. Katz (director of the SXSW breakout hit Cheap Thrills), twin auteurs Jen Soska and Sylvia Soska (American Mary, Dead Hooker in a Trunk), Israel's Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado (Rabies, Big Bad Wolves), A Lonely Place to Die's Julian Gilbey, Brazil's most controversial filmmaker Dennison Ramalho (Ninjas and Love For Mother Only), The Legend of Beaver Dam's Jerome Sable, and animator Robert Morgan - creator of the BAFTA Award nominated short Bobby Yeah.

Additional filmmaker announcements, as well as the return of the series' popular 26th Director competition (which allows one exceptional fan-made entry to become part of the finished film), will occur throughout the Summer of 2013. Here's what Magnolia president Eamonn Bowles had to say in a statement.

"The ABCs of Death was a wildly ambitious anthology that connected with genre fans in a big way, and we're all very excited about the potential for the sequel. With talented producers Ant and Tim and the incredible roster of directors assembled, we're confident that ABCs of Death 2 will be even better than the first."

Producer Ant Timpson also released the following statement.

"This time around we're all determined to expand the concept to even more hyperkinetic, comically deranged and mortally dizzying heights of how someone can shuffle off this mortal coil."

Magnet is planning a 2014 release of the film. ABCs of Death 2 is produced by Ant Timpson and Tim Leauge, in conjunction with associate producers Todd Brown, Marc Walkow, Mitch Davis, and Ted Geoghegan.