Final Destination Bloodlines

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Final Destination Bloodlines
Directed by	Zach Lipovsky Adam Stein
Produced by	Craig Perry Jon Watts Sheila Hanahan Taylor Dianne McGunigle
Written by	Guy Busick Lori Evans Taylor
Screenplay by	Jon Watts
Based on	Final Destination by Jeffrey Reddick
Starring	Kaitlyn Santa Juana Teo Briones Richard Harmon Owen Patrick Joyner Rya Kihlstedt Anna Lore Brec Bassinger Tony Todd
Music by	Tim Wynn
Cinematography by	Christian Sebaldt
Studio(s)	New Line Cinema
Distributor	Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date(s)	May 16, 2025
Running time	110 minutes
Preceded by	Final Destination 5 (2011) The Final Destination (2009) (chronological order)

Final Destination Bloodlines is a 2025 American supernatural horror film directed by Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein and written by Guy Busick and Lori Evans Taylor, based on a story developed by them and Jon Watts. It is the sixth installment in the Final Destination film series following Final Destination 5 (2011). The film stars Kaitlyn Santa Juana as a college student who inherits visions of a previous premonition that averted a deadly structural failure in 1968 from her dying grandmother and is warned that Death is coming for her family. Teo Briones, Richard Harmon, Owen Patrick Joyner, Anna Lore, Brec Bassinger, and Tony Todd appear in supporting roles.

After the commercial success of Final Destination 5, a new film entered development, described as a "re-imagining" of the franchise. In March 2020, series producer Craig Perry said the film would be set "in the world of first responders" and in October that year, series creator Jeffrey Reddick confirmed it was the sixth film in the franchise. In January 2022, the film was planned to be released on the streaming service HBO Max, with Lipovsky and Stein as directors and Busick joining Taylor as co-writer for the film. In March 2024, Warner Bros. Pictures announced that the film would instead receive a theatrical release. Filming took place in Vancouver from March to May 2024, following delays due to the SAG-AFTRA strike.

Final Destination Bloodlines was released in the United States by Warner Bros. Pictures on May 16, 2025. It received generally favorable reviews from critics, becoming the best-reviewed film in the franchise, and has grossed $105.7 million worldwide.

Plot

In 1968, Iris Campbell and her fiancé Paul attend the opening ceremony of the Skyview Restaurant Tower. During the celebration, Iris has a sudden premonition: a fallen penny triggers a chain reaction that results in a deadly gas leak, leading to the collapse and explosion of the tower. In the vision, hundreds die—including herself and Paul. Snapping back to reality, Iris warns the guests in time, averting the disaster.

However, her interference breaks the natural design, allowing Death to begin hunting the survivors and their descendants—those who were “never meant to exist.”

56 years later, Iris’s granddaughter, college student Stefani Reyes, is plagued by nightmares about a tower collapse and a red train. Encouraged by her roommate Val, she returns home to reconnect with her estranged family. She reunites with her emotionally distant brother, Charlie, and is introduced to her complex extended family: her cynical uncle Howard, protective aunt Brenda, and cousins Erik, Julia, and Bobby. While digging through old letters, Stefani learns Iris is still alive, living in isolation in a fortified cabin.

Stefani visits Iris, who confirms her visions were real. She gives Stefani a handwritten book of symbols, omens, and patterns—Death’s Rulebook. Iris explains that only two ways exist to break the chain: take a life or sacrifice yourself and be revived. As if proving her point, a weather vane launches from the roof and impales her before Stefani’s eyes.

At Iris’s funeral, Stefani’s estranged mother, Darlene, resurfaces. The family tries to reconnect, but tensions boil over. Meanwhile, a deadly pattern begins: Howard dies in a freak lawn mower accident, Julia is crushed in a garbage truck, and Bobby is impaled by a vending machine spring. Erik’s plan to manipulate Death backfires—his metal piercings magnetize him into an MRI machine. Each death is foreshadowed by mysterious symbols in Iris’s book.

In desperation, Stefani, Charlie, and Darlene flee in the family RV. It crashes in the woods near Iris’s old cabin. As a final explosion triggers, Stefani becomes trapped underwater. Darlene sacrifices herself to save Charlie, who then performs CPR on Stefani—reviving her.

One week later, at Charlie’s senior prom, the siblings reflect on their survival. Charlie's dates father reveals Stefani never died. A train derails and kills Stefani and Charlie.

Cast

• Kaitlyn Santa Juana as Stefani Reyes, a college student haunted by nightmares of a 1968 tower collapse
• Teo Briones as Charlie Reyes, Stefani's younger brother
• Richard Harmon as Erik Campbell, one of Stefani's cousins
• Owen Patrick Joyner as Bobby Campbell, one of Stefani's cousins
• Rya Kihlstedt as Darlene Campbell, Stefani and Charlie's estranged mother and Iris's daughter
• Anna Lore as Julia Campbell, one of Stefani's cousins
• Gabrielle Rose as Iris Campbell, Stefani's grandmother who had a premonition in 1968
  • Brec Bassinger as young Iris Campbell
• Tony Todd as William Bludworth
  • Jayden Oniah as young William Bludworth
• Tinpo Lee as Marty Reyes, Stefani's father
• April Telek as Brenda Campbell, Stefani's aunt
• Alex Zahara as Howard Campbell, Stefani's uncle and Iris's son
• Max Lloyd-Jones as Paul Campbell, Iris's husband
• Brenna Llewellyn as Val, Stefani's college roommate
• Yvette Ferguson as Mrs. Fuller, an elderly woman present in the tower's collapse in 1968
• Mark Brandon as Mr. Fuller, an elderly man present in the tower's collapse in 1968

Production

Before the release of Final Destination 5 in 2011, series actor Tony Todd said that if the film were to be successful, two sequels would be filmed back-to-back. In January 2019, New Line Cinema announced a new installment was in development. Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan wrote the initial script, described as a "re-imagining" of the franchise. In March 2020, series producer Craig Perry said the film would be set "in the world of first responders" and feature EMTs, firefighters, and police officers. When asked if it was in the same canon as the previous installments, he said, "Reboot is probably too strong of a word ... it makes it sound like they're going to change everything, but it's definitely a Final Destination movie".

In October 2021, Lori Evans Taylor was reported to be the new writer for the film. In January 2022, HBO Max announced it would distribute the film, Jon Watts joined the project as a producer, and Taylor was confirmed to have written the screenplay alongside Guy Busick. That July, Reddick revealed the film would differ from the franchise's formula. In September that year, Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein were selected from over two hundred candidates to direct the film. During a meeting with executives and producers from New Line to make their pitch, Lipovsky and Stein staged a freak accident like the ones in the films at the end of the call; insiders said the joke, which featured a combination of prerecorded footage and visual effects and demonstrated the filmmakers' passion for the film, got them hired. In September 2023, Todd officially signed on to reprise his role as William Bludworth. The film explores the character's backstory. Despite Todd's death in November 2024, Warner Bros. confirmed that he had shot all of his scenes for the film. In March 2024, it was announced that the film would be released in theaters by Warner Bros. Pictures in 2025. Most of the cast was also revealed. 71-year-old stuntwoman Yvette Ferguson came out of retirement for a fire stunt in the premonition scene, which director Lipovsky believes to be a world record for the oldest person set on fire on camera.

Principal photography was scheduled to take place in Vancouver, British Columbia, from July to October 2023, but in mid-July, production was delayed due to the SAG-AFTRA strike. With Christian Sebaldt as cinematographer, filming instead took place in Vancouver from March 4 to May 13, 2024. Tim Wynn was hired to compose the score by December 2024.

Release

Final Destination Bloodlines was released in the United States by Warner Bros. Pictures on May 16, 2025. The film was filmed for IMAX and will be released in both IMAX and standard formats. A double-bill special screening was shown in select theaters on May 9 and 10, a week before the film's release, which included the original 2000 film.

The film's trailer was released on March 25, 2025, across 65 markets and was available in 44 different language versions. As calculated by WaveMetrix, it garnered 178.7 million views worldwide within the first 24 hours, making it the second most-watched horror film trailer (behind New Line's It with 200 million views).

Reception

Box office

In the United States and Canada, Final Destination Bloodlines was released alongside Hurry Up Tomorrow, and is projected to gross $35–40 million from 3,400 theaters in its opening weekend. It made $5.5 million from Thursday night previews.

Critical response

The film received the strongest critical reception of the franchise. Template:RT prose Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 74 out of 100, based on 30 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by PostTrak gave the film an average four out of five stars, with 69% saying they would definitely recommend it.

Todd Gilcrest of Variety called the film "clever, unpredictable and fun" and praised Todd's performance as "a tender tribute to the horror luminary and retroactive connective tissue between the franchise's disparate chapters". Frank Scheck of the The Hollywood Reporter wrote that the film "gives its audiences exactly what they expect. Namely, a series of ingeniously designed, diabolical Rube Goldberg-style fatalities that are mostly so within the realm of possibility that you'll find yourself crossing the street very carefully after you leave the theater". He also praised Todd's appearance as "a poignant reminder that in real life, as in these movies, death comes for everybody".

Trivia

• This is Tony Todd's last movie before his death in November 2024 with the movie released posthumously in May 2025

References

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Media Films: Final Destination (2000) (soundtrack/video) • Final Destination 2 (2003) (soundtrack/video) • Final Destination 3 (2006) (soundtrack/video) • The Final Destination (2009) (soundtrack/video) • Final Destination 5 (2011) (soundtrack/video) • Final Destination Bloodlines (2025) (soundtrack) Characters William Bludworth

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Films 1960s: 1970s: 1980s: 1990s: 2000s: 2010s: Upcoming People Directors Screenwriters

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Lists Films by decade: 1910s-1920s (List) • 1930s (List) • 1940s (List) • 1950s (List) • 1960s (List) • 1970s (List) • 1980s (List) • 1990s (List) • 2000s (List) • 2010s (List) • 2020s (List) See also