Blumhouse's Purge, M3GAN and Happy Death Day Comics: How IDW Dark Will Expand Their Horror Worlds

The hero shows IDW Dark lead editor Heather Antos at GalaxyCon Des Moines in September 2026, not artwork from the comics. Photograph: John Manard / WikiPortraits via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0; proportionally resized and recompressed as WebP, preserving the full composition.

Three established Blumhouse horror worlds are heading to comics. On October 9, 2026, a partnership with publisher IDW Dark was announced for The Purge, M3GAN and Happy Death Day. The first project is a Purge comic planned for late 2027, followed by comics based on the other two properties. The deal was disclosed through Entertainment Weekly’s interviews with IDW Dark editor Heather Antos and writer Dan Watters.

This is more than a licensing headline, but less than a slate of completed stories. The creative team for The Purge has been named, Happy Death Day has a writer, and the editor has described how the filmmakers are being consulted. There are no announced exact issue dates, finished plots or confirmed changes to movie continuity for all three comics.

What has actually been announced?

The partnership covers three separate comic projects, not a single crossover. According to the October 9 reporting:

• The Purge will lead the launch in late 2027, written by Dan Watters with art by Juan José Ryp.
• Happy Death Day has Tim Seeley attached as its writer. Its precise story, issue count and release date were not announced.
• M3GAN is also part of the line, but a creative team and story have not yet been formally revealed.

All three are attached to the same publishing initiative. That does not establish that M3GAN, Tree Gelbman and the characters of The Purge inhabit one fictional universe, nor does the announcement describe an inter-franchise event.

The distinction matters because these properties operate by very different horror rules: government-sanctioned violence, a dangerous companion robot, and a fatal time loop. Each can expand through comics without forcing a shared mythology.

The Purge is leaving familiar locations behind

Of the three projects, The Purge has the clearest creative direction. The films imagine a society organized around a yearly night when the state suspends ordinary protections against violence. That premise has already supported multiple films and a television series, but a setting involving a nationwide event necessarily leaves many places and experiences unseen.

IDW Dark editor Heather Antos told Entertainment Weekly that the comic will visit a new town and environment rather than simply revisit locations readers already know from the films. That is a substantive distinction, though the publication has not named the town or disclosed the plot. A new setting should not be confused with an announced origin story, a sequel to The Forever Purge, or a rewrite of the films’ timelines.

Watters’ comments suggest an interest in the people who live through Purge Night, including how participants explain their conduct to themselves. Antos also said the editorial team wants to retain the series’ moral perspective: the people committing violence should not be recast as straightforward heroes. That framing is important for The Purge, whose horror depends on the normalization of cruelty, not simply the rules of a fictional holiday.

Does that make the comic movie canon?

No official continuity ruling has been reported. Rights-holder involvement and conversations with filmmakers show that the project is being developed in connection with the established property. They are not, on their own, proof that future movies must treat every comic event as binding canon. The clearest confirmed point is narrower: the comic will explore another part of The Purge world.

Happy Death Day is consulting Christopher Landon—but part three is not confirmed

Happy Death Day gives the announcement its most easily misunderstood detail. In the original film’s official synopsis, college student Tree Gelbman repeatedly relives the day of her murder. The sequel, Happy Death Day 2U, continues the story with returning star Jessica Rothe and writer-director Christopher Landon.

For the comic, IDW Dark has attached writer Tim Seeley. Antos says she has discussed Landon’s ideas for a potential Happy Death Day 3 with him, in part to understand which material a comic should avoid pre-empting. The central point is restraint: knowing a filmmaker’s hoped-for sequel story does not mean that sequel has been greenlit. Neither a production order nor a release date for a third film was established in this announcement.

That consultation also leaves open what the comic might depict. A new loop, an untold day, or another character’s story may all sound plausible to fans, but none has been identified as the comic’s premise. It would be premature to label it an adaptation of an unreleased third film or a replacement for one.

M3GAN gets a new medium, not a confirmed prom storyline

M3GAN may be the most visually adaptable of the three: a robot whose unsettling human-like behavior already makes her a recognizable screen character. The IDW Dark announcement confirms a comic project, but not its specific plot or writer.

Antos discussed possibilities involving M3GAN and an older Cady, even expressing enthusiasm for an imagined school-prom scenario. That was a creative wish, not a synopsis. There is no confirmed prom issue, new canon event, or cinema sequel in this announcement. Fans should distinguish a publisher’s interest in potential directions from approved story material.

The project also should not be read as evidence that any particular version of M3GAN from the films survives, changes allegiance, or returns in a specified way. The information released so far does not settle those story questions.

Why these are comics rather than another film announcement

IDW Dark already has a model for working within horror film worlds. Its official listing for A Quiet Place: Storm Warning describes a story set in a different community during the arrival of the sound-hunting creatures. That is a useful example of what a comic can do: examine experiences beyond the protagonists who carry the movies without claiming every installment must introduce a new threat or reverse an ending.

The new arrangement also works in both directions. As Entertainment Weekly notes, Blumhouse is involved in adapting horror comics into screen projects, while the IDW partnership brings existing screen franchises into comics. That business relationship is distinct from an actual announcement of a new Purge, M3GAN or Happy Death Day movie.

Blumhouse is separately producing the next announced Saw movie. Its film-production role there should not be confused with this IDW publishing deal or taken as evidence that Saw is part of the three-comic slate.

When will the comics release?

Late 2027 is the announced window for the first Purge comic. The publisher announcement reproduced by Capes & Tights specifies that window without naming an exact on-sale day. The partners have not provided a verified exact on-sale date, issue count, cover-art reveal or pre-order timetable for that project. No firm publication date was provided for M3GAN or Happy Death Day in the initial reporting.

The next details worth watching are IDW’s formal solicitations, named creative teams, cover artwork and clearer descriptions of where each story sits relative to the films. Until then, the announcement establishes new licensed horror comics, not new screen sequels or a shared continuity.

Sources & further reading

• IDW Publishing announcement, reproduced by Capes & Tights (October 9, 2026): Late 2027 launch
• Entertainment Weekly: Blumhouse and IDW Dark partnership, first-hand interviews with Heather Antos and Dan Watters (October 9, 2026)
• Bloody Disgusting: Details of the Blumhouse and IDW Dark comic announcement (October 9, 2026)
• IDW Publishing: A Quiet Place: Storm Warning #1 official listing
• Universal Pictures: Happy Death Day official synopsis
• Universal Pictures: Happy Death Day 2U official synopsis