Skye's friend, who dies by suicide, is called Lewis Fregoli. The Fregoli delusion refers to the belief that multiple people are actually the same person in disguise — which, as shown in the original film, is the Smile Entity's modus operandi and fits Laura's description of it "wearing people's faces like masks."
Kyle Gallner is the sole cast member to return to his role from the original film.
Naomi Scott said she modelled the character Skye Riley on Lady Gaga. Additionally, when she scrolls through her contacts to reach Gemma's entry, "GAGA" can be seen above it.
Skye's method of coping with her drug and alcohol cravings — downing whole glass bottles of VOSS water at once — was achieved without any visual effects; actress Naomi Scott actually did it herself. She said: "It's actually really hard to down a bottle [of Voss]. I guess I didn't anticipate how uncomfortable that would be."
The line "This is gonna ruin the tour" was, in fact, an on-set quip that writer–director Parker Finn subsequently incorporated into the script.
Skye's knee bears a scar that resembles a smile.
To make sure "the sequel was different from its predecessor", the film required a distinct visual identity. Parker Finn aimed to portray a "glammy, shiny, very fun pop star's world," while at the same time making it feel "very cold, frigid, threatening and almost alien." That meant steering clear of the standard horror backdrops of cold, creepy basements and shadowy attics. Finn said he wanted to uncover fear, dread and unease in an unexpected setting.
The doctor stating that Skye is severely dehydrated despite her continually drinking water throughout the film signals that we cannot trust our eyes and that the Entity is capable of creating a far more intricate, subtle and long‑lasting situation than anticipated. There are also several logical leaps and inconsistencies that cannot be explained by the Entity's power (for example Skye somehow freeing herself and subduing her mother without any struggle, suddenly knowing how to drive and managing to do so for roughly a minute with her eyes shut), which suggest the entire scene is not real.
While Skye is talking to Morris in the bar, her phone starts to ring as her mother, Darius and even her talent agency try to get in touch. On first viewing, this can be read as people attempting to find out where she is, since as a pop singer she can't stay off the grid for long. Yet Morris doesn't react to these interruptions while he's outlining his plan to kill the Entity. That contrast probably indicates that Morris is genuinely real and that the Entity was attempting to divert Skye from a threat to its existence.
Writer-director Parker Finn cast Ray Nicholson in the role of Paul as a tribute to his renowned father Jack Nicholson's iconic performance in Stephen King's The Shining (1980).
Director Parker Finn names his favourite moment in the film as the scene in which Skye is confronted by a disturbing vision: a troupe of dancers, all bearing wide grins, influenced by the malevolent Smile Entity as it pursues her through her home. The sequence was filmed over two days, and every movement was realised with practical effects and performed by the extras, all of whom were professional dancers in real life.
When the grinning dancers who appear in Skye's house pull her under and a bloodied arm is thrust down her throat — much like the way the final possession was shown to occur in the first film — even if this isn’t the exact instant she becomes possessed, the Entity is in complete control from that moment on.
Several in-universe tracks by Skye Riley were made available digitally.
Parker Finn said Drew Barrymore's cameo grew from his attempt to give the lead character a sense of "credibility". When viewers first encounter Skye Riley, they are meant to accept her as an established, internationally recognised star, and one easy way to sell that is to have her interviewed by a familiar, real-life talk show presenter. Finn explained that, in building the pop star Skye Riley (played by Naomi Scott), he wanted to lend authenticity to the character and blur the line between reality and fiction so she would feel as though she truly existed in our world. He therefore conceived of introducing her on a talk show and was clear he wanted it to be an actual programme. As Drew Barrymore has been presenting The Drew Barrymore Show since 2020, Finn wrote the early scene with her in mind, sent her pages from the script along with a letter hoping she might take the part, and was overjoyed when she agreed. The writer-director described her as gracious and said it was a dream to work with her.
During the confrontation in the abandoned Pizza Hut, when the Entity adopts Skye's form from the night of her car crash, it says it has been waiting for Skye 'a long time'. Although the precise span of time is difficult to gauge — the Entity's powers render much of the events hallucinatory — it does not seem to have been haunting Skye any longer than it haunted its previous victims. By the end of the film, however, it becomes clear what it meant: an opportunity to possess someone in front of thousands, which, depending on how one interprets the situation, could allow its chain of victims to develop into an outright network.
Naomi Scott had just a few weeks to practise the songs and choreography for Skye Riley before filming began.
Parker Finn told Bloody Disgusting that he had, if only briefly, considered making Joel the lead role.
Skye's hairstyle was inspired by Kristen Stewart, who had previously collaborated with Naomi Scott in Charlie's Angels (2019).
The startling finale is precisely why Naomi Scott was prepared to follow director Parker Finn wherever he wished to take the story. "I admire how uncompromising Parker is about his vision. I admire any artist who simply says, 'She is never going to defeat this smile,'" Scott said. "It offers a very interesting look at how trauma can manifest, together with the fear of not being believed or being misunderstood, and the importance of surrounding ourselves with people we can be vulnerable with. Because isolation is one of the most powerful words that comes to mind when I think of Skye. And that, I feel, is one of the main themes of the film. She is always isolated. Even in her flat she never really seems to belong. There is always that distance between her and everyone else in the film."
Because the film centres on Skye's comeback tour, many fans have quipped about the Entity's hauntings by echoing Justin Timberlake's notorious response to a drink‑driving charge: "This is going to ruin the tour," typically met with Skye's defiant "F*CK the tour!"
The film featurette reveals that Naomi Scott genuinely performed all of the pop-star elements for Skye. As director Parker Finn pointed out, Scott has the all-round talent to be a true pop star, despite being primarily known for her acting. Scott sang all of Skye’s songs, which will likely come as no surprise to most people given that, just five years earlier, Aladdin (2019) earned more than a billion dollars and her song there ("Speechless") was a major success. Scott also performed all of Skye’s choreography, and the featurette shows her playing the piano, as Skye does in the film. She co-wrote the songs too, as Skye does in the story, and has uploaded numerous TikTok clips of her songwriting process with producer Idarose, such as this one, which clearly shows how deeply involved she was.
Skye Riley's character is shown plucking out clumps of her hair throughout the film in particularly stressful moments. This portrayal is likely based on a real condition called trichotillomania, in which people experience frequent, repeated and irresistible urges to pull hair from the scalp, eyebrows or other parts of their body.
When Skye meets with Morris, the rear of the booth above her right shoulder bears the inscription "You're F*cked".
Naomi Scott admired not only "Smile" but also Parker Finn's 2020 short film "Laura Hasn't Slept."
Naomi Scott was a co-writer on several of Skye Riley's songs, working alongside producer Alexis Idarose Kesselman.
Short flashes of Skye's phone contacts reveal names such as Adele, Beyoncé, Doja Cat and Lady Gaga.
Parker Finn said he hadn't written the role of Paul with Ray Nicholson specifically in mind; he called their eventual pairing a 'wonderful kismet' that worked in their favour.
In the film series, Naomi Scott (Skye) and Drew Barrymore (playing herself) both appear as Charlie Townsend's angels: Barrymore in the first two instalments (2000 & 2003) and Scott in the third (2019). In each film, the angels portrayed by Scott & Barrymore act as the catalysts for their films' villainous plotlines.
The opening sequence of Smile 2 was filmed to appear as a single-take, though it was actually assembled from several takes that were digitally stitched together. Kyle Gallner carried out his own stunts for that sequence.
The marketing team set up verified Instagram and TikTok fan pages for Skye under the name "Skye Riley Nation."
Skye's comeback mini-album (EP) was made available on iTunes and Spotify.
The room where Skye gets ready for a shoot is partially modelled on the Black Lodge from Twin Peaks. It's easy to miss at first — the space is furnished and kept in a relatively neutral colour scheme — but a solitary shot of her at the mirror brings the reference into focus: the monochrome zigzag‑patterned floor and walls completely hung with curtains make the connection clear.
The second film in which Rosemarie DeWitt appeared had promotional material that featured an eerie smile. The first was the 2015 remake of Poltergeist (2015). Both films featured a character afflicted by a curse.
From the moment the script by writer–director Parker Finn reached her, Naomi Scott felt an immediate affinity for the part of Skye Riley — a pop star whose battle with addiction and the pressures of fame unfolds alongside the spread of the Smile Entity's lethal curse. And as soon as filming began, she showed how far she was prepared to go.
Jon Rua, known for his work as a singer and choreographer on Broadway, assumes the role of Anton, who is Skye's choreographer.
At the charity event, Skye panics when she sees Paul approaching her with a smile. She shuts her eyes and he vanishes. However, the autocue still shows Paul's name in her speech, indicating she's still hallucinating.
Does Skye Riley's red attire echo Karen O's look from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' 'Heads Will Roll'?
IGN publicised the film under the pretext of a video purportedly examining the lore of Just Dance.
Parker Finn, the director, likens the "smilers" sequence set in Skye's flat to a Cirque du Soleil performance in Hell.
Skye Riley is pictured holding a tin of Sarroff's Mints. The film credits Charlie Sarroff as its cinematographer.
On a second viewing it becomes apparent that the TV on which we first see Skye is the same set in Lewis's flat, suggesting that the Entity, acting through Lewis, took notice of her while watching the interview.
Although the film is set primarily in New York City, filming actually took place upstate in Poughkeepsie, Ellenville and Newburgh. The MVP Arena in Albany doubled as the venue for Skye's concert.
Director Parker Finn admitted that the drip Skye tears out of her arm is noticeably longer than it would be in reality, but he couldn't resist heightening the horror of the scene.
Parker Finn collaborated with surgeons to replicate realistic scarring on Skye's body, modelling the wounds on those sustained by victims of serious road traffic collisions. The mark on her abdomen corresponds to an exploratory laparotomy — a procedure undertaken to inspect the internal organs for damage.
Skye's leaving to meet Morris originally followed another argument with her mum.
When he goes to kill Alexi and Yev, Joel merely passes an apparition of Rose in the act of self-immolation. As a police officer, Joel has probably witnessed his fair share of traumatic incidents, and that experience afforded him some protection against the Entity's mind games.
In the trailer, Alfredo approaches Skye at the meet-and-greet wearing a menacing smile, much like one of the Entity's projections. In the film, he first appears timidly asking her to sign his sweater. The trailer also shows Skye dialling 911 and poring over artwork of smiles, neither of which happens in the film.
The sequence in the wellness centre where Skye realises she may have killed her mum and rushes to shut the door but trips on her way was staged so the camera could reach the door before Naomi Scott, who would otherwise have outpaced the camera operator.
Parker Finn, the director, sought to create "unbearable embarrassment" for Skye when she fluffed her lines while reading from the teleprompter.
The majority of those in the pub were crew members rather than background actors.
Roberts Jekabsons and Zebedee Row, who portray the Russian drug dealers Yev and Alexi, hail from Latvia and Australia, respectively.
While Skye is pursued by the "smiling dancers," she briefly looks away and realises they've drawn far nearer than before, reminiscent of the Weeping Angels from Doctor Who.
Skye is shown to have been so thoroughly immersed in a hallucination that pinpointing when it began is almost impossible. By contrast, Rose from the previous film experienced several hallucinations but it was possible to tell when each started and finished; Rose's trauma — the kind the Smile Entity represents and feeds on — originates from a single incident, and she shaped the rest of her life around appearing as a respectable psychiatrist in an effort to move on. Skye, on the other hand, led the life of a pop singer, a role that brought chronic stress and unhappiness she could not escape because it defined her existence, and her own traumatic event combined with drug addiction only exacerbated matters. Whereas Rose's solitary trauma produced a number of distinct hallucinations, Skye's ongoing circumstances resulted in hallucinations that may have been continuous or indistinguishable from her everyday life.
During the rehearsal of "Blood on White Satin," the backing dancers all place their hands on Skye's body. Later, the Entity summons phantoms of those dancers and repeats the same action — only far more menacing, whilst they attempt to pin her down.
Parker Finn made liberal use of mirrors throughout the picture, emphasising that Skye can never escape her own self or her reflection.
When Gemma drives away with Skye towards the end of the film, it was the first time in two years that the actress Dylan Gelula's been behind the wheel. She was rather tentative during the first take.
The derelict building in which Skye and Morris find themselves is a former Pizza Hut in Ellenville, New York.
A full-length music video for "Grieved You" was shot, concluding with a woman offering an ominous smile to the camera.
The interview scene with Drew Barrymore was among the final sequences to be shot. Parker Finn explained that, having spent the rest of the production performing as Skye, Naomi Scott was able to remain appropriately guarded — exactly as the character was intended.
Skye phones Gemma and leaves a voicemail. Gemma rings her straight back. In light of the film's later twists, watching it again makes the audience wonder whether anyone actually phoned Skye.
Morris's brother was played by Jeremy Selenfriend, who was part of the special-effects department.
The rehearsal for "New Brain" was longer at first.
Early in the film, Skye Riley (Naomi Scott) appears on The Drew Barrymore Show for an interview. Naomi Scott featured in Charlie's Angels (2019), which was produced by Barrymore, who herself appeared in the 2000 and 2003 Charlie's Angels films.
During Skye and her dancers' rehearsal of "New Brain," everyone is clad in neutral white, black and grey, while the curtains and Skye's socks are red.
Skye Riley scrolls through the contacts on her mobile; among them is Parker Finn, the film's director and writer.
In the contact photo for Gemma on Skye's phone, Skye can be seen licking Gemma's face. Parker Finn has said that Naomi Scott improvised the moment to help break the ice when she first met Dylan Gelula.
Skye never completes any of the songs she performs whilst on stage.
According to Parker Finn, the music that plays when Skye emerges at her concert was composed to serve both as an out-of-universe soundtrack and as an in-universe piece for the show's opening. Indeed, it was later uploaded to Skye Riley's official YouTube channel as one of her tracks.
The "smiling dancers" who lift Skye are a nod to the full rehearsal for "New Brain," during which she is lifted while singing the first half of the chorus.
writer-director Parker Finn has confirmed he intends to carry the franchise on with a third instalment, saying: "...we've perhaps only scooped a single glass of water from the ocean. I find it fun to imagine a line of Smile films where each entry becomes more off the rails than the last." In December it was reported that Smile 3 was in development and was due to shoot in 2025.
Parker Finn described the film as an exploration of the downfall of a pop star who is unable to overcome the pressures placed upon her. He added that what he loves about the ending is that he wanted to create a metatextual moment in which the audience in the arena looks through the screen at the audience in the cinema. He wanted to raise the question: did we do this to Skye? By coming back for Smile 2, have we, as viewers, done this to her? To him, the notion of 'are we complicit in this?' is particularly intriguing.
