Halloween Horror Nights just wrapped up Sunday night, and if you’re a haunt freak like us, you’re already counting down till next year. So is Universal Orlando. Today Universal has released the dates for HHN 26, and while you night think it’s too early to start thinking about Halloween, just remember…it’s never too early to panic.
Universal Orlando announced that the nation’s premiere Halloween event will back with a vengeance on September 16th, and the carnage will run all the way through Monday October 31st, 2016. Hard to think that the plans are already in motion for 2016, but evil never sleeps.
Video-The a look back at the terror of HHN 25
So, now that HHN 25 is over, what will we see at HHN 26? There are no solid rumors, so we will just speculate a bit.
First, how about the number of houses? There will be a lot of construction happening at Universal Studios Florida next year with Disaster transforming into Fast&Fyrious, and Twister going down to become Jimmy Fallon. That’s two area that were used for HHN houses and access. Paths can be rerouted,but what about that final house? Traditionally the Disaster Queue has been used for a house. The only thing we could think would be to shut down ET for the season, and use the queue area for a house, with the queue coming behind the building. Another possibility is that they go two parks again, and use areas in Islands of Adventure, with the brunt of the houses being in the soundstages. That seems unlikely, but it’s definitely a possibility.
Next, what about the houses? It looks like HHN Orlando has found a good balance with five big name IP’s and three or four original houses. We aren’t even going to guess at the original houses, though we would love to see some sequels to original houses like Hellgate, and Nightingales.
Now let’s talk IP’s. The Walking Dead is still breaking records, but FEAR The Walking Dead wasn’t as hot as the network had hoped. It’s likely we could see Fear the Walking Dead, but we’ll take the safe bet and say season six of the Walking Dead will be a house.
Purge seems like a forgone conclusion as well, with the third movie in the series hitting in the summer of 2016. Krampus, and Trick ‘r Treat for also seem like good safe bets, with Legendary pushing Krampus out this year, and Trick r Treat supposedly getting a sequel. Scarehouse in Pittsburgh had a great run with both of those titles this tear, so it’s likely to come to HHN sooner or later. Finally, what about another entry in the Evil Dead series? Ash vs. Evil Dead just hit Starz over the weekend, and while it’s good it just may not catch on. However, the creative team always talks about “Dream projects”, so what about Army of Darkness? Universal does share the rights to that film, so a deal could be made…and possibly tied in to promoting season two of the series.
Sadly, we don’t see a return of an icon, which is a shame. A new character with a specialty show to lead the chaos would be a welcome addition, and as Universal proved this year, if they anchor the icon with a good line up of recognizable features it could definitely work.
On the other hand, with a huge line up, there really is no need for a new character…but wouldn’t it be fun to do a traditional character with a bit of a twist?
Just keep in mind that this is only speculation, and not based on rumors. This is the line up we would like to see, and one that could very well be logical. It is in no way a rumor, going to happen or even being thought of at this point.
Stay tuned for more from HHN 25, and be sure to get social with us on Facebook and follow along with us on Twitter @BehindThrills for the latest updates!
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