Smash Hit Horror Franchise Smile Is Getting a Spinoff, And We Have The First Look

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Jason is an award-winning journalist whose writing career dates back to when he developed the ability to use a crayon. He, most notably, worked previously as a "professional fan," as he likes to call it, at CinemaBlend, for which he wrote about anything and everything under the pop culture umbrella... especially Batman. His passion for the art of cinema began even earlier, stemming from repeat viewings of The Wizard of Oz.
This initially led him to pursue a career in filmmaking -- and even work briefly in the industry as an extra in the straight-to-video family film, Alice Upside Down -- before deciding that his talents would be better served discussing and showing appreciation for the various forms of entertainment he is passionate about.

One of the horror genre's most pleasant surprises in recent memory is 2022's Smile from writer and director Parker Finn, who continued to shock audiences with an arguably better sequel, Smile 2, two years later. Fans eager for more are sure to be grinning about the next installment, which is not heading to theaters but comic book stores.

From IDW Dark, the comic book publisher's spookier imprint, comes Smile: For the Camera, a prequel to the lastingly creepy psychological thriller. Now, before anyone gets up in arms about the idea of a story that explains the origins of the franchise's mischievous and manipulative parasitic entity, that is not the intention with this new horror comic book series.

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Set in 2005, Smile: For the Camera imagines what happens when the Smile Entity (inspired by a real disorder) infiltrates the fashion industry. It follows a group of five close-knit professional models who arrive in New York City to walk the runway for Fashion Week. Unfortunately, one of them falls prey to the shape-shifting demonic presence, which makes itself known to its victim with an unsettling grin.

The Smile Demon is passed down between poor souls through traumatic circumstances much like a deadly chain curse. In the franchise's premiere installment, it infects psychiatrist Dr. Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon, who is horror royalty, being the daughter of Friday the 13th star Kevin Bacon) after witnessing her patient, Laura Weaver (Caitlin Stasey), take her own life with a beaming look on her face. Smile 2 sees pop star and recovering addict Skye Riley (Naomi Scott) tormented by this monster on the eve of her comeback tour after enduring a similar experience involving her former drug dealer.

Rose smiles while holding a match in a house in Smile (2022)

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Smile: For The Camera Is Slightly Autobiographical

Taking over from Parker Finn to bring his hit horror franchise to the comic book medium with Smile: For the Camera is writer Hannah Rose May, who is certainly no stranger to horror comics, having previously created 2024's The Exorcism at 1600 Penn for IDW after debuting with Image's home invasion thriller, Rogues' Gallery, in 2022. However, the Irish writer is especially well-suited to tell this new tale because of her previous occupation.

May drew inspiration for Smile: For the Camera from her own experience working as a fashion model and had intended to craft a horror story set in that world for years. In an exclusive interview with EW, she said the following about why she felt that the industry was a perfect setting for her latest creepy comic.

It's no secret that the fashion industry has its own monsters. They're just not supernatural. So that's what excited me the most. This allows us to deal with those monsters but with an entity being the main setting.

The article goes on to recall when, in 2024, IDW Dark announced it would be releasing new titles based on properties owned by Paramount Pictures, including A Quiet Place and Smile. May came to them with three ideas for an offshoot comic set in the world of the latter, and her pitch that sees the Smile Demon come to Fashion Week won them over.

May collaborates on Smile: For the Camera with artist Miriana Puglia, who is best known for working with Dynamite on its run of Red Sonja and comics inspired by Disney titles like Lilo & Stitch and Gargoyles. The limited series also features variant covers, some of which resemble fashion magazine covers complete with subtly sinister blurbs, drawn by the likes of Martin Simmonds, Becky Cloonan, Stacey Lee, Skylar Patridge and Kevin Wada.

Smile: For the Camera is available for preorder on Jan. 12, 2026, and hits the shelves on Feb. 18.