Spoilers for both Smile (2022) and Smile 2 (2024). The story chain is Rose, then Joel, then Lewis, then Skye: Joel witnesses Rose’s death in the first film, his attempt to redirect the curse fails, and the curse reaches Skye through Lewis. The sequel’s opening makes that connection brief on screen but essential to its plot.
How the curse passes from the first film to Smile 2
In Smile, psychiatrist Rose Cotter becomes the target of a supernatural entity after witnessing a patient’s suicide. The curse torments its host for seven days and culminates in a suicide witnessed by another person, passing the threat along. Rose dies in front of Joel, the police officer who has been helping her investigate the deaths.
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Smile 2 begins six days after the events of the first film, according to the Associated Press. Joel tries to use what he believes is a way to redirect the curse, but the plan goes wrong. Lewis is left as the living witness and becomes cursed; the chain then leads from Lewis to Skye Riley. Rose does not return as a living protagonist: her death is the event that sets the sequel’s handoff in motion.
What carries over—and what changes
Parker Finn returned as writer-director, but the sequel shifts the story from Rose’s work and personal trauma to Skye’s life as a pop star preparing for a world tour. Paramount’s synopsis and the Directors Guild of America describe Skye’s escalating experiences in the context of fame and her past. TIME also describes her recovery from an accident, grief, pain, and pressure to sustain a public comeback.
#1 Best Overall
| Story element | Smile (2022) | Smile 2 (2024) |
|---|---|---|
| Lead character | Rose Cotter, a psychiatrist | Skye Riley, a pop star |
| Curse connection | Rose’s death is witnessed by Joel. | Joel’s failed intervention leads to Lewis, then Skye. |
| Thematic focus | Psychological and personal trauma | Fame, public performance, and isolation |
| Ending’s scale | A witness to Rose’s death carries the story forward. | Skye’s onstage death is witnessed by a packed audience; what follows is left open. |
The forced smile and psychological assault remain the shared premise. The new lens is celebrity: Skye is expected to project confidence in public while struggling privately. That is a thematic reading of the film, not confirmation that the entity literally represents fame.
Why the sequel follows a new protagonist
Finn said he made the first film to stand on its own and did not expect a sequel. When sequel discussions began, he looked for a less obvious direction and focused on the person behind a pop-star persona. He described the aim as wanting “to challenge myself to do something unexpected.” That approach lets Smile 2 continue the curse’s story without simply repeating Rose’s circumstances.
Rank #2
What the ending suggests—and what it does not confirm
Spoilers for Smile 2’s ending: TIME reports that the curse reaches its deadline while Skye is performing before a packed audience, where she dies by suicide. The crowd witnesses her death, suggesting a much wider chain of potential witnesses than in the first film.
The film and cited reporting do not establish how many people will become hosts, how a mass transfer would work, or what a later installment’s plot will be. Finn has said there are multiple possible directions for future Smile stories, but the ending does not settle which one will be taken.
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Release timeline versus story timeline
The films were released two years apart—Smile in 2022 and Smile 2 in 2024—but the sequel’s story begins only six days after the first film’s events, according to the Associated Press. That short gap explains why Joel’s experience with Rose remains immediately relevant to the opening.
Quick Recap
Rank #4
- horror, mystery, thriller
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