Posted in: Horror, Interview, Lionsgate, Movies | Tagged: Madelaine Petsch, the strangers, the strangers - chapter 3

The Strangers: Chapter 3: Petsch on Her Journey Filming Horror Trilogy

The Strangers: Chapter 3 star Madelaine Petsch spoke to us about filming the Lionsgate trilogy, Maya's psychology, and her franchise future.

When it comes to The Strangers, the three part trilogy that started in 2024 with Chapter 1 was a bit of a unique journey because it was filmed back-to-back-to-back with the subsequent releases of Chapter 2 in 2025, and the latest in Chapter 3, which is rare, but not without precedent since the original 2008 film from Bryan Bertino and its 2018 sequel Prey at Night from Johannes Roberts were box office success. When it came time to revisit the series, it would involve a new set of characters, starting with Madelaine Petsch playing Maya Lucas, facing the masked killers trio of Scarecrow (Matúš Lajčák), Dollface (Olivia Kreutzova), and Pin-Up Girl (Letizia Fabbri, Ema Horvath). Chapter 3, written by Alan R. Cohen and Alan Freedland, finds Maya facing the killers one last time in a brutal, full-circle reckoning of survival and revenge. Petsch spoke to Bleeding Cool about the marathon shoot; working with director Renny Harlin and producer Courtney Solomon, trying to organize Maya's emotions with the opportunistic filming schedule, whether she sees herself continuing her involvement in the franchise in some form in the future, and not wanting to wear out her welcome. The following contains minor spoilers.

The Strangers: Chapter 3 – Madelaine Petsch on Understanding Maya's Psychology and If She Will Return to the Franchise in the Future

BC: When you're filming the three films all at once, did it feel like a marathon?

MP: It definitely felt like a marathon, yeah. At the same time, it felt like shooting one very long movie.

Did you film the scenes in order? How did scheduling work out? I imagine it was a bit of chaos.

It was basically whatever location was available immediately, and whatever scenes we shot there, we shot there. I shot my first week all in the hospital, so movie two was the first week of shooting, but then there'd be days where it's like I'm in the house in movie two and movie one. I'd shoot both movie two and movie one on the same day, or I'm in the woods for movies one, two, and three. I'll shoot all three movies in one day. There was no chronology to the film at all.

As far as exploring the psychology of Maya at this point, was it kind of difficult to shift from one end to the other?

Yeah, it was very difficult to navigate her emotions and make sure there were very clear shifts within her as she loses humanity and loses every sense of herself. I had this notebook that was like, honestly, my North Star that I had written all my thoughts in beforehand. If I was ever at a loss or wanted to see where I was, even in like terms of my limp or whatever, I had it all on the page, which was very helpful. Yeah, it was obviously tough. I wanted to make sure the journey felt earned and that it felt metered in the right moments.

Did you find that you're more independent prepping for that journey, or did you steadily navigate through the notes, tones, and everything?

We did a lot of preparation beforehand. Renny [Harlan], our producer, Courtney, and I made sure we were on the same page about the character's journey. Once we got to set, both trusted me in my artistic interpretation of the character. There would be moments where I would go and like lean on our producer and be like, "Hey, do you feel like this is feeling correct? Does this feel right to you?" But for the most part, I was released into the sky and told, "Good luck!"

We see Maya at different stages psychologically throughout the trilogy. I always thought it was rather ominous, at least around the end there, and it makes me think, "Where is she at the end? Are we entering a different phase with a different Maya again in the future? Is it something that is still being talked about?

I wouldn't say, "Never say never," but that conversation has not been had at all so far. I personally feel it's nice to walk away from characters when people are still intrigued, when people are still like, what could happen? That's the best place to walk away from a character instead of, like, "Where people are like, I'm so sick of her! Get her off of my screen!"

The Strangers: Chapter 3, which also stars Gabriel Basso and Horvath, comes to theaters on February 6th.

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