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When Taika Waititi’s What We Do in the Shadows first hit theaters, fans immediately fell in love with its hilarious vampire coven. But one scene in particular—featuring a werewolf pack—nearly stole the show, leading Waititi to tease a long-rumored sequel: We’re Wolves. But over a decade later... still no sequel. Now, as the hit FX TV series nears its final episodes, fans are more eager than ever for another feature-length installment in the What We Do in the Shadows universe.
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0:00
If you're going to eat the victim on my nice green couch, put down some newspaper on the floor and some towels
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We're vampires. We don't put down towels. This is what we do in the shadows
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The movie spawned a cult following, two spinoff TV series, and a legacy that will likely outlast us all
0:16
But for all its success, that legacy has been tainted by one glaring omission
0:21
a sequel that's been promised for almost a decade. At this point, we might only get to see it if we join the immortal ranks of vampires
0:28
So instead of waiting for the impossible, we'll make do by breaking down everything we know about the What We Do in the Shadows sequel we're still waiting for
0:36
It was obviously that werewolf smell which permeated the entire house for the first half an hour, but we opened some windows and got rid of that
0:45
What We Do in the Shadows is the product of Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement
0:49
The project began as a bit on a comedy stage, evolved into a short film, and eventually became
0:54
a full-fledged supernatural mockumentary about the lives of vampires in New Zealand
0:58
When it finally hit the Sundance Film Festival in 2014, it was critically lauded and embraced
1:03
as an indie cult classic. After a limited theatrical run in its home country as well as the United States
1:16
What We Do in the Shadows quickly became available on DVD. which means it also became available illegally online
1:22
and its popularity allegedly contributed to the downfall of New Zealand's biggest piracy website
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Since so many people wanted to watch What We Do in the Shadows, site traffic increased dramatically
1:32
This caught the attention of the Motion Pictures Association of America, who slapped the owner with a multi-million dollar lawsuit and had the site shut down for good
1:40
Just leave me to do my dark bidding on the internet. What are you bidding on
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I'm bidding on a table. Fortunately for the creators of What We Do in the Shadows
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this scandal only fanned the flames of this movie's growing popularity. Clement and Waititi had more eyes on them than ever
1:56
and they certainly used it to their advantage. In the decades since, Waititi has become a respected director of movies
2:02
like Hunt for the Wilderpeople Jojo Rabbit and Thor Ragnarok Clement meanwhile is one half of the comedy duo Flight of the Conchords and has lent his acting and writing talents to countless live action and animated projects over the years
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The pair have seen their comedic and artistic talents recognized and have been given their
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share of the spotlight, but without fail. For every new project they and the rest of the cast
2:23
are attached to, fans and journalists echo a familiar question. When are we going to see
2:28
the long-awaited sequel? As early as 2016, Clement and Waititi stated their intent to create a sequel
2:34
of What We Do in the Shadows. This sequel would focus explicitly on the pack of werewolves
2:38
that makes a few brief appearances in the film, and it would be called We're Wolves
2:43
We're Wolves. We're Wolves. Get it? It's a wordplay. Americans love wordplays
2:54
Fans were ecstatic of the prospect of another movie in the Shadows universe, even if it wouldn't follow Viago, Vlad
3:00
and the rest of the vampiric coven from the original. On the contrary, a movie about werewolves was even more exciting to many
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Like everything in What We Do in the Shadows, there's a lighthearted and satirical edge to the werewolves
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Through improvised and pre-scripted dialogue, they acknowledge and parody pre-existing horror and monster movie tropes
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Whether they're chaining themselves to trees and fretting over ripping their clothes during a full moon or chasing fake sticks
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every minute they're on screen is delightful to watch. Reese Darby's werewolf leader, Anton, is a particular standout
3:28
My muscles couldn't wash them because there was too much blood on them, so... If your legs expand, they grow into the tracksuit
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Those jeans are going to rip completely. You've lost all those trousers, guys
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He brings a frantic and incompetent energy to the character that makes him seem more like a put-upon parent than a menacing pack leader
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which fits right into the tongue-in-cheek tone of the rest of the movie. Don't swear
3:48
Sorry, they... We're werewolves. What are we? Werewolves, not swearwolves. No, it's a very offensive word
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It helps that Darby wasn't a stranger to this sort of production or to the rest of the cast
3:59
Most notably, he had worked side-by-side with Jermaine Clement in the Flight of the Concords TV series. There, he played band manager Murray Hewitt, who wrangles the band
4:07
similarly to the way Anton attempts to wrangle the werewolves, just with fewer furry transformations
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What are these supposed to be Those are just your function buttons for the robot They look like nipples Don touch them Well it doesn look like Daft Punk We wanted ones like Daft Punk I don know who he is It thanks to Darby background in improv as well as his chemistry with Clement and
4:27
Waititi, that Anton and his wolf pack are some of the most memorable and quotable characters
4:32
in What We Do in the Shadows. Since the werewolves were fan favorites, it makes sense why Clement and Waititi would want
4:38
to focus on them for a theoretical sequel movie. But the best indicator of what a werewolf-centric sequel might look like
4:44
is actually the What We Do in the Shadows TV series. Sorry about making a jump off the circuit city the last time we were together
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Tell me! What the hell? Premiering in 2019 and airing its sixth and final season in October of 2024
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the show follows an entirely new cast of vampires. Clement Helm, the project, and Waititi is credited as an executive producer
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as well as a director for several episodes, meaning the show's about as close to the original creative intent as you can get
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And while they're not the main focus, the werewolves have popped up several times throughout the show's run
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The series leads into the rivalry between werewolves and vampires, maintaining the pedestrian distaste for one another from the original movie
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I thought you messy beast didn't do this until there was a full moon
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This guy, he just pictures the moon. He's got a great imagination. They challenge each other to battles that end in a werewolf
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chasing a squeaky toy off a roof, they play pranks, and they even expand werewolf lore
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by bringing a truce into the mix, as well as establishing the possibility
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of vampire-werewolf hybrids. Whenever the werewolves turn up, the show manages to capture
5:51
that same chaotic spirit as the movie. Plus, we even get a better look
5:55
at the beasts in their supernatural form. Basically, there seems to be no shortage of ideas for werewolves
6:00
in the What We Do in the Shadows universe. So, with all this material to work with
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why are we still waiting for werewolves eight years after it was announced
6:08
The first and most obvious reason for the delay is the TV series. Though the wolves are used sparingly
6:13
the show does cover some of the same ground the sequel would, and it's kept both Clement and Waititi fairly busy
6:19
Still, the show aired in 2019, three years after they announced We're Wolves
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so we can lay all the blame at the feet of our Staten Island vampire coven It not my fault you stupid mothers it yours Come on join in you stupid Around the same time of the initial 2016 sequel announcement
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Waititi confirmed he was writing and directing Jojo Rabbit, which came out in 2019
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Clement and Waititi also co-created the other Shadows spinoff series, Wellington Paranormal, which ran from 2018 to 2022
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and had its own werewolf episode. She doesn't look like a werewolf, Sarge
6:53
Well, that's because the moon is being obscured by cloud cover right now. That's why a lot of werewolves live in Wellington
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It's always cloudy. Both Waititi and Darby worked on two seasons of Our Flag Means Death together
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And of course, Waititi directed two massive Marvel movies and makes frequent appearances in various movies and TV shows
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To put it mildly, their plates have been full. But for many fans, that answer isn't good enough
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After all, they managed to get a whole host of other projects off the ground, including two in the Shadows franchise
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So why not werewolves? The frustrating answer is that when Waititi and Clement work together
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they create lightning in a bottle, but they do so painfully slowly
7:30
The original What We Do in the Shadows movie took six years to write, despite it being largely made up of improvised dialogue
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When they finally got around to filming it, it took them 14 months to edit down 125 hours of footage
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Clement and Waititi proved to be sluggish creative partners. In 2017, Waititi joked that they had written about three pages of werewolves
7:49
over the course of two years. As of February 2024, the script still wasn't written
7:55
and Clement didn't seem confident they'd start working on it anytime soon. Talking about writing it
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Oof. Talking about writing it. Talking about writing it, yeah. Unfortunately for fans, We're Wolves is effectively shelved with no release date in sight
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But luckily, Clement and Waititi haven't left us in the lurch. Both Wellington Paranormal and the What We Do in the Shadows TV series
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harbor much of the original spirit of the movie. Both creators are also involved in other projects that are well worth a watch
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And let's remember that the first movie took them six years. It's just taking an awful long time, so I just want to..
8:28
Get going. So while we wait endlessly for the What We Do in the Shadow sequel we might never see
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we can rest easy knowing it'll probably be worth it, even if we have to wait an eternity