Gore Verbinski Teases Potential Sequels to 'Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die' [Exclusive]

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Sam Rockwell in Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die looking at floating objects

Published Jan 29, 2026, 3:30 PM EST

Ryan O'Rourke is a Senior News Writer at Collider with a specific interest in all things adult animation, video game adaptations, and the work of Mike Flanagan. He is also an experienced baseball writer with over six years of articles between multiple outlets, most notably FanSided's CubbiesCrib. Whether it's taking in a baseball game, a new season of Futurama or Castlevania: Nocturne, or playing the latest From Software title, he is always finding ways to show his fandom. When it comes to gaming and anything that takes inspiration from it, he is deeply opinionated on what's going on. Outside of entertainment, he's a graduate of Eureka College with a Bachelor's in Communication where he honed his craft as a writer. Between The IV Leader at Illinois Valley Community College and The Pegasus at Eureka, he spent the majority of his college career publishing articles on everything from politics to campus happenings and, of course, entertainment for the student body. Those principles he learned covering the 2020 election, Palestine, and so much more are brought here to Collider, where he has gleefully written on everything from the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes to Nathan Lane baby-birding sewer boys.

After a nearly ten-year absence from theaters, Gore Verbinski will finally return next month with the wide release of his new sci-fi comedy adventure, Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die. Even though the Sam Rockwell-led feature has only played at film festivals so far, he's already thinking about sequels, too. At a Q&A following a screening at the Palm Beach International Film Festival earlier this month, moderated by Collider's Aidan Kelley, the inventive Pirates of the Caribbean director was asked about the film's ending and the purpose of closing the story the way he did. Without getting into spoilers, he explained how he and writer Matthew Robinson tried to strike a middle ground that left viewers both wishing it was and wasn't how the journey to save the world concludes, which also made it ripe for continuation.

"Plus, I think we've got two more of these," Verbinski teased to the attendees. He predicted Kelley's next question, which was regarding whether a sequel could build on that ending. Again, Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die was made to feel complete, whether it gets a follow-up or not, but with the film taking its ragtag team of heroes to such bonkers places, it gives the impression that the writer-director pair are just scratching the surface of what their imaginations can conjure. Of course, for Verbinski to explore more opportunities within his creative dystopian world, it would require audiences to vote with their dollars. "That depends on these guys," he added. "Whether they show up, or people show up."

What Is 'Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die' About?

Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die begins in a Los Angeles diner, where a man claiming to be from the future (Rockwell) holds everyone hostage. He's certain that among the patrons lies the right combination of people who will be able to save the world from a bleak reality ruined by a rogue AI. Upon assembling his team of individuals who see the writing on the wall about the threat of technology, he leads them in a fight against police, masked criminals, robots, zombie teens, wire monstrosities, and much more in one very weird night that they may not all survive.

Joining the Oscar-winning Rockwell on-screen is a star-studded cast featuring Haley Lu Richardson, Michael Peña, Zazie Beetz, Asim Chandhry, Tom Taylor, and Juno Temple. It's quite a loaded return to the screen for Verbinski after his last film, 2016's A Cure for Wellness, bombed at the box office, and, in the eyes of critics, at least, Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die appears to be the triumphant comeback he needs. Rotten Tomatoes currently has sci-fi comedy at an impressive 94%, with high praise for the director's timely creative vision and an all-in performance by Rockwell as the scuzzy action hero from the future. Kelley gave it an 8/10 in his review, further praising it as "a raucous sci-fi comedy with extremely ambitious goals and insightful commentary on the current state of the world and how it can evolve (or devolve) into something unrecognizable." If the film gets a similarly warm reception from audiences, perhaps it'll be the right combination to get Verbinski at least one, if not two more shots at expanding his satire into something more.

Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die premieres in theaters on February 13, but LA audiences have a chance to see it on February 9 at Collider's early screening. Stay tuned here at Collider for more on Verbinski's latest as it draws closer to its release.