'Hereditary' Star Alex Wolff Reveals Why There Shouldn't Be a Sequel

It’s standard practice that breakout films that have done well at the box office immediately generate buzz about potential franchises — even in horror (a good recent example of this phenomenon is John Krasinski’s A Quiet Place). And with the arrival of Hereditary and its critical crowning as the scariest movie of the year, it only makes sense that we’d see similar chatter around writer-director Ari Aster’s chilling feature film. But if its star Alex Wolff is to be believed, Hereditary 2 shouldn’t happen for one very good reason.

Speaking with The Playlist for an interview published Thursday, Wolff (who stars as the film’s protagonist Peter) said that despite regarding Aster as “one of my favorite directors” and feeling that the film was “one of the things I’m most proud of,” doing a Hereditary sequel “kind of sounds like the most tiring, traumatic thing I’ve ever heard.”

“Honestly, man, I had an unbelievably rewarding experience and an unbelievably cathartic experience that was amazing and it was moving and whatever, but, wow, I hope there’s not a sequel,” he told The Playlist. “I’ve got to be honest. That was tiring. It was a pain in the ass. Honestly, I hope not.”

Wolff has been vocal about the demanding process of bringing his character Peter to life, given the extremes of the film’s plot (not to mention its batshit ending). And Wolff himself has recounted actual physical harm he endured on set as well, particularly during a scene where his character has his face slammed against a desk.

“I remember after, I was just panting, my voice is gone, blood is dripping down everywhere, and blood is gushing down my knee — real blood gushing down my knee because I slammed it against a chair,” told The Wrap of the scene in an interview published last week. “I couldn’t move my arm, my complete ankle was swollen — it looked like a balloon.” And that’s just one scene!

So sorry, horror fans. It sounds like a Hereditary 2 is a long shot — for now, at least.

Hereditary opened in theaters June 8.