Judah Lewis is reprising his role as Cole from Netflix’s The Babysitter in the soon-to-be released sequel The Babysitter: Killer Queen and it would be an understatement to say that he’s excited for fans to see the next chapter in the franchise.

iHorror caught up with Lewis at a press junket this week where we talked about what it was like stepping back into this role.

As it turns out, murmurs and rumors of a sequel began almost immediately after the successful release of the first film. The filmmakers were knocked out by the viewer reactions, but even though the buzz was high, it was still several months before the project officially began moving forward. For Lewis, that meant it was the first time in his professional career that he would have the opportunity to return to a character he’d previously played.

“It was just so unbelievably exciting for me,” Lewis said, “because Cole is a character that’s so close to my heart and that I identified with so much and related to so much. To be able to bring him back to life and explore where he’s at in his life, now, and where his story went was so fun.”

Without giving too much away, Cole is struggling as the film begins because no one in his life believes what he tells them about the series of events that took place in the first film leaving him in a place that’s without a date even more vulnerable than the first film.

In fact, he’s come to the place where even he’s not sure that what he experienced actually happened. It’s a shaky foundation at best for someone already dealing with the constant trials of high school. Fortunately for Lewis and Cole that leaves a lot of room for growth.

“What’s so cool about this film and the first one as well is the massive character arc that happens which always the most challenging but the most fulfilling thing as an actor,” he explained. “In the first film, we see him kind of progress from boyhood to manhood in the course of a night. And then, because of the events that transpired post-the first film in this film, we see him kind of start out and be incredibly shaky and in the course of the film we see him step into his own shoes and become comfortable in his own skin.”

Lewis was also bolstered by the fact that almost the entire cast from the first film returned for its sequel. I won’t tell you how so as not to spoil the surprise of course, but for the actor, reuniting with his castmates only made the experience more exciting.

“They’re just the greatest people,” the actor said. “It’s the kind of thing where you’re working sometimes and it’s work, but on a Babysitter movie, it’s really not work. Everyone’s just playing around and performing their hearts out and improving and coming up with different things. It’s incredible. Everybody’s genuine excitement creates this electric energy in the film.”

Moreover, Lewis says it was fun to build upon the relationships that were established in the first film.

Though they were all out to kill him, the chemistry between the characters and the unlikely bonds he seemed to form with them throughout that first crazy film was undeniable. In The Babysitter: Killer Queen, we see those relationships ratcheted up to the next level without any pretense.

The icing on this production cake for Lewis, however, was the return of McG as director. As the actor explained, McG kept them on their toes throughout the shoot and the film is better because of it.

“He had this way of getting into a scene and he’s showing you all these references from old movies that perfectly kind of encapsulate what he wants certain scenes to feel like,” he pointed out. “Then he’s also coming in between takes and going to an actor and whispering something in their ear. Then you’re doing the next take and that actor will say whatever he told them to in the middle of the scene and it’s completely unexpected and it takes the scene in an entirely new direction and lets everyone kind of play off of each other. It creates this kind of really fun, energetic environment that is so apparent in the film.”

The Babysitter: Killer Queen is set to debut on September 10, 2020 on Netflix, and the next question is would Judah Lewis return for a third installment?

“I would be there tomorrow,” he said, laughing. “I just love these films so much. I love Cole as a character so much and I personally want to see where the next stage of his life takes him. I want to see him get through high school. I’m sure there are more demons out there for him to face.”

We shall see, Mr. Lewis. We shall see.