The most recent film in the Purge franchise, Purge: Election Year, was heralded for being shockingly reflective of America, as it was released in July last year at the time when Donald Trump was rocketing towards the White House.
The concept of the Purge is very well established in the third film, however, writer James DeMonaco wants to take the idea to its inception for the fourth instalment, Purge: Island.
For those who haven't seen the three Purge films, it's a policy enacted into America, where on one night of the year all crime is legal and people are allowed to kill as many citizens as they want for 12 hours with no punishment. It's brought in by the totalitarian political party the New Founding Fathers of America as a means to avoid economic collapse.
Check out the trailer for the first movie:
Credit: Blumhouse Productions
The first Purge movie was set in 2022 when the characters were desensitised to the concept. However, Purge: Island will be years earlier and placed on Staten Island, New York, where people will experience the concept for the first time.
DeMonaco has told Vulture: "I was wondering how you get people to stay for the first Purge, and what they do is they start monetising it.
"So you see the inception of how grotesque the idea of the Purge is, the manipulation upon the society. That's where it becomes, sadly, I think, very topical right now with the current administration.
"I think of all the movies, it's definitely the most topical. It really is a creepy reflection of what's happening right now. The bad serendipity is something I think people will be intrigued [by], to say the least, and scared and saddened by.
Credit: Blumhouse Productions
DeMonaco has directed, as well as written, the last three Purge films, however, he's handing over the directorial role to Gerard McMurray.
But as he gears up for the fourth movie to the very lucrative franchise, he's also working on a Purge TV show. DeMonaco says he's looking forward to slowing down the plot and exploring how each character feels and what life was like before the transition.
He adds that the TV show will be about seven or eight years after the first purge, and that characters from the movies will be making an appearance. He said: "There's so much political craziness in this world that there's always more purging to be done."
The fourth movie of the franchise will be released in America on Independence Day (July 4th).
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