TL;DR: Tubi has officially greenlit R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead 2 after the first film broke out during the streamer’s 2025 Terror on Tubi lineup. The sequel is set to premiere in October 2026.
Photo credit: Tubi
Key Takeaways
– Tubi has greenlit R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead 2 for October 2026.
– The sequel follows the breakout performance of the first Pumpkinhead movie on Tubi.
– R.L. Stine and Tubi both framed the follow-up as part of the streamer’s growing YA horror push.
– The new film will return during Tubi’s annual Terror on Tubi Halloween event.
Tubi is going back into the pumpkin patch. The streamer has officially greenlit R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead 2, giving its young-adult horror franchise a second chapter after the first film found a strong audience during last year’s Halloween season.
That matters because R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead 2 is not being treated like a throwaway follow-up. Tubi is clearly leaning into horror as a serious lane for the platform, and this sequel feels like a bet that its spooky YA crowd is ready for more.
According to the announcement, the sequel will premiere during Terror on Tubi in October 2026. That keeps the film locked into the same seasonal release strategy that helped the first movie break through in 2025.
Tubi says the original R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead premiered exclusively on the service in October 2025 and even landed on Variety’s Streaming Original Movies Chart, which tracks weekly viewership using Luminate data. For a free streaming platform, that is a pretty loud win.
Why R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead 2 matters for Tubi
Tubi is not shy about what this sequel means. Adam Lewinson, Chief Content Officer at Tubi, said R.L. Stine remains one of the most important horror voices for younger audiences and called the original film’s performance a breakout success.
That tracks. R.L. Stine is one of those names that instantly triggers nostalgia while still pulling in a newer crowd. So when a platform finds a way to package that brand for streaming-era horror fans, it makes sense to double down.
Stine also sounded fully on board with the return. He joked that Halloween would not be Halloween without a story about kids trapped inside a pumpkin, which is exactly the kind of weird, playful horror energy this franchise is chasing.
The sequel’s setup also sounds bigger than a simple rerun. Tubi’s description says the story follows Evan, a bullied kid who finds a forbidden spellbook and accidentally revives the ancient curse of Redhaven. From there, pumpkin-headed children rise from past sacrifices and move to claim the town during its Harvest Festival.
Tubi keeps building its horror identity
Now here’s where it gets interesting. Tubi says Terror on Tubi drove more than 100 million hours of total viewing time in 2025, which marked a 51 percent increase year over year. That kind of jump explains why the platform is putting more chips on horror originals.
And honestly, it is a smart fit. Tubi has built a reputation as a place where genre fans can dig around and find something wild. A horror brand tied to R.L. Stine gives that strategy a recognizable face while still leaving room for goofy seasonal fun.
The movie is being produced by Front Street Pictures. Jem Garrard is writing and directing, while James Mattagne, Joan Waricha, Harvey Kahn, Yvonne Bernard, Dan Bernard, Jem Garrard, Allen Lewis, and Rama Diallo are attached as executive producers.
For fans, the big headline is simple. R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead 2 is real, it is aiming for October 2026, and Tubi clearly wants this series to become part of its annual Halloween identity. If the sequel lands, this could turn into one of the streamer’s most reliable genre franchises.
Keywords: Tubi, R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead 2, R.L. Stine, Terror on Tubi, Front Street Pictures, horror movies, streaming news, YA horror
