Art the Clown is back for one last, blood-soaked encore—because apparently, even homicidal mimes need closure.
Writer-director Damien Leone confirmed Wednesday that Terrifier 4 is officially in development, posting an image of the script’s cover page on X. The announcement comes just months after Terrifier 3 slashed its way into theaters in September, proving that audiences still can’t get enough of Art’s twisted sense of humor (and his even more twisted ways of dispatching people).
“Thank you for all the birthday wishes,” Leone wrote in his post. “Figure I’d give you a present in return! The script for Terrifier 4 is in the works, and it’s shaping up to be an epic, thrilling, nasty, horrifying, emotional, and utterly satisfying conclusion. P.S. I will finally reveal Art’s origin.”
So, after years of turning unsuspecting victims into gruesome works of modern art, we’re finally going to learn what makes Art tick? Maybe it was a tragic childhood at clown school. Maybe a cursed seltzer bottle. Or maybe he just really, really hates balloon animals.
In a 2023 interview with Deadline, Leone hinted that Art’s reign of terror might not be completely over—because, let’s be honest, horror villains have a way of popping back up when you least expect them.
“It doesn’t have to end, and once we open the door to the supernatural, anything’s possible in this franchise,” he said. “So, I don’t think you could ever officially put the nail in the coffin, but if I ever did want to end it, I now have a satisfying conclusion for myself as an artist, as the creator.”
Of course, “nail in the coffin” is a pretty fitting metaphor, considering Art’s favorite pastime.
The sinister silent clown first crawled out of the nightmare factory in Leone’s 2008 short film The 9th Circle, later making his way into the horror anthology All Hallow’s Eve (2013). He finally took center stage in the Terrifier trilogy, carving up the genre from 2016 to 2024. The latest entry, which premiered in France last October, defied expectations by raking in nearly $90 million worldwide—proving that audiences still have an insatiable appetite for Art’s special brand of mayhem.
Now, with Terrifier 4, Leone is promising a grand finale. But let’s be real—this is horror. If history has taught us anything, it’s that clowns like Art have a nasty habit of coming back for one more show.