Kathryn Newton Talks Ready or Not 2, Primal Rage Screams, & Her MCU Casting Dream [Exclusive]

by

Kathryn Newton is quickly becoming a prominent figure in horror. She first appeared in the genre with the 2012 film Paranormal Activity 4 and has since faced off against supernatural threats in shows like Supernatural and The Society, as well as movies like Freaky and Lisa Frankenstein. Recently, she starred in the vampire thriller Abigail, directed by the filmmaking team Radio Silence. Now, she’s reuniting with that same team for Ready or Not 2: Here I Come, a sequel to their popular 2019 horror-comedy.

The film begins immediately after the end of the first movie, with Grace (Samara Weaving) recovering in a hospital after a terrifying night. She’s shaken and covered in blood, waking up handcuffed to her bed. Her sister, Faith (Newton), arrives as Grace’s emergency contact, but before they can even begin to reconcile, both sisters are pulled into another round of the deadly hide-and-seek game. Chaos quickly ensues.

In a recent interview with ComicBook, actress Kathryn Newton discussed the challenges of portraying intense scenes – including screaming, simulated injuries, and physical violence – as well as how she landed the part of Cassie Lang in the latest Ant-Man film.

Faith is unexpectedly caught up in a chaotic situation, and is initially restrained with a ball gag. How does she react to finding herself in this strange and disturbing predicament?

Kathryn Newton believes her character, Faith, doesn’t fully grasp the danger she’s in – and realistically, no one would at first. Faith operates under the assumption that everyone is fundamentally good, thinking, ‘I won’t hurt you, and you won’t hurt me.’ But that’s a naive view, as we don’t truly know what others are capable of. Faith is unaware of just how violent and malicious the people around her are, and she’s unlikely to heed her sister’s warnings. She’ll have to learn through difficult experiences.

What did you think about the relationship between the sisters and how it changed throughout the film?

I saw our dynamic as a classic pairing – she was the serious, grounded one, like the character played by De Niro in Midnight Run, and I was there for the comedic relief. But that aspect turned out to be much smaller than I initially expected. Mostly, it was about letting Samara take the lead and supporting her vision. Each scene felt unique and intense – we were constantly facing high stakes, running from danger, and dealing with a lot of emotional weight. Any humor that came through was just me being myself. The role was tailored to my style, and I instinctively tried to add jokes, but it turned out we didn’t need them. The story itself was funny enough. It was about finding the truth in each scene, and Samara showed me how to do that from the very beginning. I simply followed her lead.

This film is full of incredibly realistic and varied screams – from sheer terror to furious rage and complete shock. As an actor, how do you create each scream to truly show what your character is feeling in that moment?

Screaming feels very physical – it comes from deep inside, almost like singing and hitting a specific note. But it needs genuine emotion to connect with an audience; otherwise, it just sounds like acting. The type of scream depends on the scene – a truly terrifying scream might be higher pitched. I don’t really plan my screams out. I admire Samara Weaving’s screams – they’re incredibly powerful and resonate deep in your chest. I can’t quite achieve that range of screams myself. I did practice a lot on the set of Paranormal Activity 4. I even tested my scream while driving to a screen test when I was 14, asking people how much it hurt their ears. I tried not to cause too much discomfort, though the sound guy got the worst of it. Ultimately, there’s only so much control you have.

It’s surprising that you or Samara didn’t lose your voice.

It’s amazing, but we didn’t lose our voices! We were completely immersed in the experience, and it felt like we gained incredible strength.

Both Grace and Faith get their chance to be the hero, and each has a unique villain to overcome. For Grace, that villain is Titus, played by Shawn Hatosy. Can you describe what it was like filming their intense and physical confrontation?

I’m pretty sure the movie was True Romance, the one with Patricia Arquette where her character is really beaten up and covered in blood. Matt wanted the film to have that same intense, unsettling feeling – he wanted the audience to feel awful. They ended up cutting down some of the fight scenes, but it was originally much more violent and uncomfortable to watch. It’s not enjoyable to watch someone get hurt, of course, but we aimed for a balance where it wasn’t too distressing. We rehearsed for a week, though Shawn and I really only worked on it for about two days. It was a long, complex fight scene, and we only had two half-days to film it. Thankfully, we had a fantastic stunt team, and I’m pretty athletic, so I was eager to deliver something impactful. I actually discovered it’s much harder to receive a punch convincingly than to throw one – really selling the pain is surprisingly fun. I even kept asking for more blood, saying I’d spit it out during the scene!

Faith suffered a lot of kicks to the gut.

I know. Look, I am here to tell the tale. 

Being covered in blood seems to be a tradition in Radio Silence films. How do you get ready for those scenes? What goes through your mind when you’re about to be hit with the blood cannon?

It’s easy to tune out the pain after a while, and honestly, I’m really focused on giving the fans what they want. They want to see more intensity, more action – they want to see everything turned up. I even want to be a target – I make sure whatever’s coming my way is aimed right at me, so it really makes an impact. I want it to be spectacular.

You suddenly coughed up some blood. Was it already there, or did fake blood accidentally get in your mouth?

I think the moment where I pretended to spit on Shawn was planned, but it wasn’t completely real. The line itself was written for me. I did manage to get some of his blood on me, which I actually enjoyed – it tasted sweet, almost like caramel. I really got him good, especially when he wasn’t expecting it.

I once read that a director explained the appeal of genre films is that audiences enjoy knowing certain things will happen – like someone getting covered in blood or exploding! The real challenge is finding a way to tell a story that still keeps people engaged. I think I learned how to do that on Supernatural, a show I really loved. I felt incredibly free and fearless when I was younger, and I see that same energy with Matt and Tyler now. That fearlessness carries over to these movies, because the characters practically demand something exciting happen to them. Simply delivering lines and screaming wouldn’t be enough to make the film truly special. It might be good, but it wouldn’t be great. As an actor, I have the freedom to explore and experiment, always within the context of what best serves the story. We’re always striving for the most creative and impactful film possible. I especially love my scenes with Sam – that’s my favorite part. And honestly, the entire cast is phenomenal.

Besides working with Sam and myself, Shawn Hatosy really blew me away. He’s just an incredibly gifted actor who consistently goes above and beyond what’s written in the script. He brought this really unique, almost unsettling quality to his performance – something only he could have done. It’s funny, he’d often check with me, like, ‘Is this working?’ And I’d be going completely wild with my own performance and just think, ‘It’s perfect! It’s exactly what we need!’ That’s what it takes to make a truly great genre film, you know? An artist just being allowed to do their thing. But not every actor or every movie allows for that. This project, thankfully, was a safe space for that kind of experimentation. Matt and Tyler, the directors, really fostered that environment. They invited that kind of playfulness. Different directors need different things from their actors, and honestly, I sometimes like being given very specific direction – like ‘Don’t overdo it.’ That’s just how Matt and Tyler work, and it really clicked for this film.

You made your debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Do you think there’s more to explore with your character, Cassie Lang? And is it possible we might see her in a future Avengers movie?

I’m a big fan of both horror and comics, especially Marvel. It’s such a vast universe, anything feels possible!

Have you ever had any conversations regarding Young Avengers? Cassie leads that team.

I’m not sure what you’re referring to! I recently visited Disneyland and always enjoy seeing Ant-Man there – sometimes even someone who looks like Cassie Lang! It reminded me of when I was a kid. I’ve been acting since I was four, and after seeing Iron Man, I knew I wanted to be a movie star, which meant being in a Marvel movie. I actually gave myself a deadline – if I hadn’t landed a Marvel role by age 25, I figured acting might not be for me. Luckily, I got my Ant-Man role when I was 24, maybe 21 – it was a while ago! It just proves that dreams really can come true, and that’s what makes Marvel and Disney films so special. Even movies like Ready or Not, while a horror-comedy, have a magical, fantastical element. There’s definitely a sense of mythology and something magical happening in that world, too.

What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!

https://comicbook.com/movies/feature/sarah-michelle-gellar-elijah-wood-discuss-their-horror-returns-in-ready-or-not-2-buffy-the-faculty-revivals-exclusive/embed/#

Read More

2026-03-18 17:12