Happy Death Day and Happy Death Day 2U helmer Christopher Landon is ready to start work on the third installment tomorrow if only someone at Universal would give him the green light. Released in 2017, Happy Death Day stars Jessica Rothe as Tree, a young woman who's repeatedly murdered on her birthday, waking up after every death on the same day as part of a never-ending loop. Tree falls into another time loop in the 2019 sequel Happy Death Day 2U as she tries to figure out how to put an end to the madness.

Landon has been open about his desire to make another Happy Death Day movie since the second film was released. While there have been some rumors of Landon making a crossover with Freaky, the director says in a new interview with THR that this is something he's spoken about with Rothe, Freaky's Kathryn Newton, and producer Jason Blum. But if he had the choice, Landon says he'd rather make Happy Death Day 3, as he already knows exactly what he wants to do with the threequel. The issue is that it would take a bigger budget than the previous movies to make, and the studio is reluctant to make that investment.

"It would definitely be Happy Death Day 3. I have that movie in my head, and I know exactly what I want. It’s actually a bigger movie than the previous two films, and that’s part of the issue, ultimately. This third movie needs a bigger budget, but since the second movie didn’t perform as well as the first, it’s a tall order. But I’m still holding out hope that Universal will give me a chance because it would be a really fun conclusion."

Related: Happy Death Day 3 Talks Are Happening, Jason Blum Says

Streaming Would Be Just Fine for Happy Death Day 3, Christopher Landon Says

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Universal Pictures

It's noted in the interview that Happy Death Day 2U was no failure, pulling in more than $64 million on a budget of $9 million. That's certainly not a bad return, but Landon explains how Universal compares that $64 million number to the $125 million earned by the first Happy Death Day, and the concern is that a third movie would continue the downward trend. However, Landson says that the series has only gotten more popular with horror fans since part two's release, and he believes part three would be a success. Just to get it released, Landon says he's even willing to develop the film for Peacock.

"I don’t even know if they actually look at what they made at the box office. I think they look at it like, 'Well, the first one did this and the second one did this, therefore the third one will do even less.' There’s just a certain kind of math that they do that makes them go, 'Eh.' And they also spend really big on marketing. So I understand the economics of it, but I also think they’re missing the fact that we’ve gained an audience over the years. People finally found their way to the second movie and realized that it was really fun. So, if we did make a third one, I think we’d have a bigger audience than they expect. Or we could do it for Peacock. I don’t know. (Laughs.) It doesn’t have to be theatrical. I’d prefer it, but it doesn’t have to be."

Time will tell if Happy Death Day 3, or even Freaky Death Day, ever come to be. For now, you can check out Landon's latest film, We Have a Ghost, when it premieres on Netflix on Feb. 24, 2023.