If you like action films and you like the vampire genre, Day Shift is the perfect blend for you. It gives you exactly what you’d expect – high action, gun-slinging, with Jamie Foxx, Dave Franco, and Snoop Diggity Dogg smashing vampires left and right, and selling their fangs for cash. The word is, a sequel might already be on its way. So, is Netflix working on Day Shift 2 with Foxx?
There’s no official confirmation from the platform, but it seems like Day Shift 2 is going to happen. Jamie Foxx and Dave Franco both expressed interest and high hopes of running it back for part 2, and the first film was quite open-ended, leaving much room for a sequel.
Also, come on. Snoop surviving that blast, getting out of the sewers with a blunt, and we don’t get confirmation he’s a vampire? If we don’t get Snoop Vamp in Day Shift 2, I’ll riot. Now, let’s see what we know so far and what might happen in the star-studded sequel.
Day Shift Synopsis
Day Shift is exactly what was expected ever since the movie came out – not more, not less. It’s a horror comedy with action-packed sequences, blazing guns, and a whole lot of vampires. The official IMDb synopsis says:
“A hard-working, blue-collar dad who just wants to provide a good life for his quick-witted 8-year-old daughter. His mundane San Fernando Valley pool cleaning job is a front for his real source of income: hunting and killing vampires.”
Essentially, Jamie Foxx’s character, Bud Jablonski, needs to get money to support his daughter and not have his ex-wife move to Florida with her. The reason they broke up in the first place was Bud’s lies. What his wife didn’t know is that he lied – because he was a vampire hunter.
Now, a real-estate agent vampire wants to populate LA with vamps while developing a sunscreen for them so they can walk during the day. She goes after Bud’s family because he kilčled a granny vampire at the beginning of the movie, which turns out to be her daughter. Yup, the granny is her daughter.
Snoop Dogg’s supporting role is too awesome and funny, but the chemistry between Jamie Foxx and Dave Franco, aka Seth, might be the best thing about the movie. So, will there be a sequel? If you ask those two fellows, hell yes!
Is Netflix Working On A Day Shift Sequel With Jamie Foxx?
There’s no official confirmation about a Day Shift sequel just yet. It’s still very early, though, as the first movie just came out recently. Netflix usually waits to see how well-received the movie is and if it was profitable enough to continue with a sequel. Hence, we’ll have to wait a little longer for an official confirmation.
However, in an interview for Screen Rant, Jamie Foxx and Dave Franco revealed that they’d be very excited and very happy to work on Day Shift 2 together again. The guys are obviously clicking with each other, and it was obvious on screen. Franco said:
“I knew it would be fun, but he [Jamie Foxx] just, he surpassed all expectations, he is the most giving actor I’ve ever worked with in my life. I’m not just saying that, he wants everyone around him to be great and he creates this energy, he comes in, he’s playing music every day, he’s hyping everyone up and he just makes us feel safe. When you feel safe and comfortable, you do your best work, you’re taking risks.”
Then, Foxx revealed that he was the one to pitch Dave Franco to the director, J.J. Perry:
“I said, “J.J., the only way I could do this movie is we get this guy, this comic technician, Dave Franco.” I am a comic snob, I do not laugh at everything and everybody. I may laugh, but like, “Ha ha, that was easy.” But sometimes people make me laugh and go, “Man he clicked, he got that thing.” So I said, “When we get with him, I think it’s gonna be great,” because he brought so much to everything.”
As for the sequel, Foxx went first and revealed:
“We talked last night about it and we got some great ideas. It’s not always normal for Netflix to do part twos, they don’t always do it, but we feel like, with this one, we got a great chance on how everybody’s responding to it already. They’re responding to the trailer, they’re responding in the screenings and things like that. And it’s fun, you know what I’m saying, so I think we’ll definitely try to make it happen and I think if they do, it’ll be even better.”
Franco simply added:
“We’ve got a good title, we got Night Shift followed by Graveyard Shift, trilogy, baby!”
That would be a cool title, Dave. We couldn’t agree more.
What Could Day Shift 2 Be About?
Now, given the main guys are obviously interested in making the sequel happen, what could Day Shift 2 (or Night Shift, if you ask Franco) be about?
Well, the first movie didn’t really end on a cliffhanger, but it ended quite openly. We see Seth accepting his fate as a vampire, Bud revealing everything to his family and going home with them – and Snoop emerging from the sewers with a blunt, revealing that his character, Big John, survived the UV-bomb explosion moments before.
Given the fact that Big John was bitten right in the neck, the most likely scenario is that he was turned into a vampire himself. We didn’t get that explicit confirmation, though, so I and a sea of other fans are dying to see Snoop portraying a laid-back stoner cowboy vamp. It would be a cool little gem for Day Shift 2.
The story could revolve around Bud’s family life after the big reveal and possibly his wife and daughter joining the family business. Remember, his daughter said, “when I grow up, I’m going to be a vampire hunter, too,” in the conclusion of the first movie.
Also, it would be fun to see how Seth acclimates to the vampire life – which could ultimately be the reason why he and Bud become the Night Shift, as Seth can’t walk in the sun.
I’ve seen some ideas about the second movie – or even a spin-off series – revolving around the Nazarian bros – the crazy vampire hunting duo portrayed by Scott Adkins and Steve Howey. Honestly, I’m more interested in the big three – Bud, Seth, and Big John – but who knows what could happen?
Finally, now that the evil real-estate vamp Audrey (Karla Souza) is gone, perhaps a new alpha vampire could stroll into town – maybe even a new, more dangerous breed? The possibilities are endless, and I’d love to see what the team can come up with.
When Could Day Shift 2 Come Out?
So, even if the sequel is confirmed by Netflix soon, we can’t possibly know when it could come out. However, there are a few indicators that it would most like take at least until 2024.
First, the sequel to Netflix’s big-budget project, The Gray Man, was confirmed before the first movie even came out. And yet, the shooting hasn’t even started yet, so we can’t expect it to be done before early 2024. So, if Day Shift 2 hasn’t even been confirmed, production would likely start even later, meaning the earliest we could see the sequel is mid-to-late 2024.
Another factor that plays into that hypothesis is Jamie Foxx’s super busy schedule. According to his IMDb page, Foxx already has a whopping ten projects lined up and announced in the near future, so it’d probably be tough to squeeze in another project of this magnitude so soon – at least not until he clears his schedule a bit.
