Lukas Gage Joins ‘Smile’ Sequel From Paramount

EXCLUSIVE: After recurring in the fifth season of FX’s acclaimed crime drama anthology Fargo, Lukas Gage has been tapped to star opposite Naomi Scott in Paramount’s sequel to Smile, the 2022 horror thriller from Parker Finn, which went on to outsized success in theaters following a pivot in release strategy.

Details as to the plot of the as-yet-untitled film, as well as the roles of the actors cast thus far, are under wraps. But Finn has returned to direct from his own script, with Temple Hill producing. The sequel is currently slated for release on October 18, 2024, when it will go up against a still-unnamed title from Universal Pictures.

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Going on to gross over $217M in theaters, even if it was initially set up for release on Paramount+, Smile was one of the great, unexpected box office successes of 2022. One of a number of original studio horror films of late to expand into a franchise, it tells the story of Dr. Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon), a psychiatrist who becomes increasingly convinced she is being threatened by an uncanny entity, after witnessing a bizarre, traumatic incident involving a patient.

Most recently, Gage portrayed Lars Olmstead, the airheaded husband of Richa Moorjani’s police officer Indira, in Fargo Season 5, which airs its finale on January 16th. The actor came into high demand after standout turns in such other prestige series as Euphoria, The White Lotus and You, having also been seen on Hulu/Disney+’s Love, Victor and more. Starring alongside Courtney Eaton and Thomas Mann in Brittany Snow’s directorial debut Parachute, which world premiered at last year’s SXSW, his other upcoming projects include Amazon’s Road House reimagining from Doug Liman, which debuts worldwide on March 21st, Netflix’s Dead Boy Detectives, and New Line’s sci-fi thriller Companion.

Gage is repped by WME, 2AM and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman.

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