Eight years after the events of the first film, blind Navy SEAL veteran Norman Nordstrom lives with 11-year-old daughter, Phoenix and his Rottweiler, Shadow, in a Detroit suburb. Norman tells Phoenix that her birth mother died in a fire in their old house.
Hernandez, Norman’s only connection with society and a veteran Army Ranger, convinces Norman to let Phoenix accompany her on an errand in town to have some time out of the house. A gangster named Raylan attempts to abduct Phoenix but is scared away by Shadow. His gang follows Hernandez’s van back to Norman’s where they wait for her to drop Phoenix off, then kill her when she leaves. They lure Shadow away and kill him off screen. When Norman goes outside to look for Shadow, the gang breaks in to kidnap Phoenix. A struggle ensues between Norman and the gang, and Raylan tells Phoenix that he is her real father, confirming it by showing they both have a streak of white hair.
It is revealed that Phoenix’s house burned down after a meth lab explosion in the basement, and Raylan had been jailed for eight years. Norman found Phoenix unconscious in the wreckage and took her home to take the place of his dead daughter. Upon release, Raylan saw Phoenix alive when she left flowers at her mother’s memorial. Phoenix is chloroformed by a henchman. Raylan sets his own dog to kill Norman, who traps the animal in the attic. The gang sets the house on fire and leaves with Phoenix. Norman befriends the dog as they escape together and it leads him to the gang’s hotel hideout.
At the hotel, Raylan reveals Phoenix’s real name is Tara and introduces her to her mother, who is alive but terminally ill. She explains that she triggered the explosion while cooking meth resulting in the poisoning of her internal organs. Tara’s parents have abducted her in order to transplant her compatible organs for Tara’s mother. Due to a lack of drugs and facilities, Tara will be conscious while her heart is removed. A power blackout prevents the procedure and Raylan’s men are ambushed by Norman, who exploits the dark to pick them off one by one. Norman also kills the surgeon and a stray gunshot kills Tara’s mother. Norman gouges out Raylan’s eyes and leaves him for dead.
A badly wounded Norman confirms to Tara that her father was telling the truth. He confesses his crimes, including murder and rape, and tells her to flee to safety. Raylan appears and stabs Norman, only to be fatally stabbed by Tara. She attempts to help Norman, claiming she can save him, to which he replies she already has, before apparently succumbing to his wounds. Tara leaves and heads to a children’s home she had seen earlier. She approaches a group of children playing and introduces herself as Phoenix.
In a mid-credits scene, Raylan’s dog licks Norman’s fingers which twitch slightly, indicating that he is alive.
In November 2016, writer Fede Álvarez announced that a sequel to Don’t Breathe was in the works, and that he was set to return as director. Producer Sam Raimi called it “only the greatest idea for a sequel I’ve ever heard. I’m not kidding.” In November 2018, Álvarez discussed sequels to both his Don’t Breathe and Evil Dead, saying, “They’re just ideas right now. Nothing to announce officially. We do have a script for Don’t Breathe 2. That’s the only difference. We don’t have a script for Evil Dead 2. But we do have a script for Don’t Breathe 2 that we wrote.” He also said, “When I tweeted that I was interested in seeing what people prefer. We were having some internal debates about what people would be interested in most. Unfortunately, Evil Dead 2 won. Which, I guess I would have preferred Don’t Breathe 2 to win because it’s one of my own creations. Obviously Evil Dead has the bigger following.”
In January 2020, Álvarez was replaced as director by Rodo Sayagues, the co-writer of both Don’t Breathe films, making his directorial debut. In a March 2021 interview, Stephen Lang stated that in preparation for reprising the role of Norman Nordstrom, he worked with The Northeastern Association for the Blind in Albany, New York to accurately depict the mannerisms of someone afflicted with being blind.
Principal photography began on August 7, 2020, in Belgrade, Serbia, with Pedro Luque serving as cinematographer, returning from the previous film. Production was previously set to begin in April 2020, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In July 2020, prior to filming, Stephen Lang quarantined himself for ten days after arriving in Serbia. Lang revealed that filming wrapped on October 8, 2020. By March 2021, post-production on the film was said to be finished, according to Álvarez, who “watched it not too long ago,” calling it “fantastic,” and later stating he thinks it’s better than the first film. In May 2021, Roque Baños was revealed to have composed the score for Don’t Breathe 2, having returned from the first film. During post-production, Jan Kovac served as lead editor.
- Stephen Lang as Norman Nordstrom / “The Blind Man”: A blind U.S. Navy SEAL veteran who recovered from his injuries in the first film, and now lives in an isolated home with his adopted daughter Phoenix, whom he rescued from a house fire.
- Brendan Sexton III as Raylan: A gang leader, former convict, and Phoenix’s biological father who kidnaps her so he can transfer her heart to his paralyzed wife Josephine.
- Madelyn Grace as Phoenix / Tara: Norman’s adopted daughter.
- Adam Young as Jim Bob: Raylan’s main thug.
- Bobby Schofield as Jared: Jim Bob’s brother who is also a thug working for Raylan.
- Rocci Williams as Duke: One of Raylan’s thugs.
- Christian Zagia as Raul: One of Raylan’s thugs, who eventually teams up with Norman having found out Raylan’s true motives. Zaiga is the only other actor to reprise his role from the first film.
- Steffan Rhodri as The Surgeon / Dr. Thomas Hanniman: A surgeon who works on the operation in trying to remove Phoenix’s heart so it can be transferred to Josephine.
- Stephanie Arcila as Hernandez: A former US Army Ranger and friend of Norman.
- Diaana Babnicova as Billy
- Fiona O’Shaughnessy as Josephine: Phoenix’s paralyzed biological mother and Raylan’s wife.
August 13, 2021
