Black Phone 2 Stars Mason Thames & Madeleine McGraw Break Down Finney & Gwen’s Strong Sibling Bond

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The sequel to *Black Phone* is coming soon, and it’s expected to transform Ethan Hawke’s villain, The Grabber, into a modern horror icon similar to Freddy Krueger. Mason Thames and Madeleine McGraw are also returning as the siblings with a mysterious link to the killer.

During a conversation with Russ Milheim from TopMob, Mason Thames and Madeleine McGraw, the stars of *Black Phone 2*, talked about the strong connection between their characters as siblings and explained why that relationship is central to the story.

According to actress Jenna Thames, Finney and Gwen have always relied on each other, and the new movie really highlights the lengths they’ll go to for each other – they’re willing to risk everything to be together.

McGraw noted that the actors had more opportunities to connect with each other this time around, which likely strengthened their on-screen chemistry. Unlike the first film, where their characters were often apart, and filming took place during the isolating conditions of the Covid pandemic, they were able to spend more time together.

Universal Pictures’ Black Phone 2 hits theaters on October 17, 2025.

Madeleine McGraw and Mason Thames on Gwen and Finney’s Sibling Bond

“All They’ve Really Had Is Each Other.”

  • TopMob: “I think the sibling bond between you both in the film is so good, and it’s core to the narrative, obviously. Can you talk about how you guys got to explore that in a whole new way with this sequel?”

Madeleine McGraw: It’s interesting because in this movie, Finn is the one taking care of Gwen – the roles are flipped from the first film. I think being able to spend a lot more time together on set really helped our performances. It was much harder to socialize and be around each other during the first movie because of Covid restrictions.

Mason Thames explained that this film really highlighted the strong bond between Finney and Gwen. Even in the first movie, they only had each other, and this one shows just how far they’re willing to go – even risk their lives – for one another. Their connection is what started everything, and it’s how their story ultimately concludes.

Diving Deeper Into Trauma and Grief With Black Phone 2

Director Scott Derrickson Trusted the Actors Implicitly.

  • TopMob: “The movie itself has a very unique exploration of grief and trauma, and you both get some really serious and extremely well-performed scenes in this film. Can you talk about getting to dive or dig deeper into all of that in unexpected ways for the sequel?”

Playing this role was really challenging for me, especially with the difficult and sensitive topics the scenes covered. I felt a lot of pressure to make sure my reactions felt genuine and different each time, because my character was experiencing something new and traumatic with each event. Everyone handles trauma differently, and I wanted to reflect that in how I portrayed her feelings.

I often spent a long time discussing scenes with Scott Derrickson, going over every detail and what he envisioned. Surprisingly, he frequently encouraged me to simply trust my gut and play the scene as I felt my character would, because he believed we understood our characters best.

For me, the most important part was simply being present in the scene and truly connecting with what my character was experiencing.

Playing Finney was really challenging, especially with the intense scenes and serious themes of the movie. I had to fully immerse myself in the character, and it actually took me a while to shake off the experience afterward. But it was a rewarding process, and Finney is such a complex character. I really gave it everything I had.

Scott Derrickson really trusts us as actors. When we have emotional scenes, he gives us the freedom to perform naturally, letting me, as Finney, explore the character. This collaborative approach is pretty unusual and really valuable.

I just watched the complete interview – you can find it here! It’s really good, and there’s this hilarious part where the cast of *Black Phone 2* talk about how much they absolutely dread being cold. Definitely worth checking out!

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2025-10-16 00:05