Chapter 1

Cohen and Alan Freeland, from a story by Bryan Bertino. Madelaine Petsch and Froy Gutierrez star as a couple who come into contact with the three psychopathic masked strangers while on a roadtrip.

The Strangers: Chapter 1
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Renny Harlin
Screenplay by	Alan R. Cohen Alan Freedland
Story by	Bryan Bertino
Based on	The Strangers by Bryan Bertino
Produced by	Courtney Solomon Alastair Birlingham Mark Canton Charlie Dombeck Christopher Milburn
Starring	Madelaine Petsch Froy Gutierrez Gabriel Basso
Cinematography	José David Montero
Edited by	Michelle Harrison
Music by	Justin Burnett
Production companies	Lionsgate Films Fifth Element Productions Frame Film
Distributed by	Lionsgate Films
Release date	May 17, 2024 (2024-05-17)
Running time	91 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Serving as the third film in The Strangers film series created by Bertino, it is the first installment of a new trilogy of standalone films, where Chapter 1 will follow a similar premise to the first film and takes place in the same continuity as the first two installments, acting as a prequel to the first film.

The Strangers: Chapter 1 is scheduled to be released by Lionsgate Films on May 17, 2024. Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 are both set to be released later in 2024.

Maya drives across the country with her longtime boyfriend, Ryan, as the pair begin a new life together in the Pacific Northwest. Along the way, their car breaks down in Venus, Oregon and they are forced to spend the night in an isolated Airbnb home. Through the night they are terrorized by three murderous masked strangers.

• Madelaine Petsch as Maya
• Froy Gutierrez as Ryan
• Rachel Shenton
• Gabriel Basso
• Ema Horvath
• Ella Bruccoleri

Development

In August 2022, producer Roy Lee announced plans for three films to consecutively enter production beginning in September of the same year. Renny Harlin was revealed as director for at least one of the films, though he was in negotiations to direct each of the films. The trilogy was produced by Lionsgate Films, Fifth Element Productions, and Frame Film, and will be distributed by Lionsgate.

Later in 2022 Harlin was announced as director on the three upcoming films; the first of the new trilogy, from a script written by Alan R. Cohen and Alan Freedland and story by Bryan Bertino. Courtney Solomon, Mark Canton, Christopher Milburn, Gary Raskin, Charlie Dombeck, and Alastair Birlingham was attached as producers on the three films. The new trilogy is a relaunch of the series with producer Canton stating that the trilogy is intended to introduce new audiences to "world of The Strangers". Solomon stated that when they began the project the intent was to tell a bigger story than before, but also to "expand that world". The producer describes the three films as a "character study", compared to the previous two films. It was later clarified by the filmmaker and the actors, that the new trilogy of films takes place in the same universe as the original two films.

Casting and filming

In September 2022, Madelaine Petsch, Froy Gutierrez and Gabriel Basso were cast. In October 2022, Ema Horvath was announced to be a part of the cast. The following month, Rachel Shenton joined the cast.

Principal photography on all three films commenced in September 2022 in Bratislava, Slovakia and wrapped in November 2022. Harlin told Entertainment Weekly that it was "the challenge of a lifetime, but I also really embraced it. On a Monday morning, I could be shooting the second chapter, and Monday afternoon I could be shooting the first chapter, and Tuesday morning I could be shooting the third chapter. it was incredibly demanding for the actors, for the continuity in terms of the make-up and wardrobe, and for my director of photography, because we wanted to create a visual language that develops so that the movies get bigger, more epic, as we go [on]. It just kept all of our juices pumping all the time".

The Strangers: Chapter 1 is scheduled to have a theatrical release on May 17, 2024.

Two sequels were filmed concurrently with Chapter 1 and will be released at unspecified dates in 2024. Harlin stated that the studio green-lit a trilogy to "explore what happens to the victims of this kind of violence. . ." confirming that the movies would detail who the killers are and where they came from. The filmmaker stated that they were intended to be neither a remake nor reboot, and that the tone was going to be close to the first film.