Trivia: Due to the success of 2002's "The Ring" and it's 2005 sequel "The Ring Two", a third film was planned for some time, with rumors of it starting as early as 2006. In the early 2010's, the film was greenlit under the working title "The Ring 3D" to capitalize on the resurgence of 3D films following James Cameron's "Avatar." However, the production was troubled and the film didn't go into principal photography until 2015, with the budget having been slashed and the proposed 3D concept having been dropped. The film was originally intended for a November 2015 release, but this was pushed back to April and then again to October of 2016 to accommodate studio-mandated reshoots to make the film more marketable. Less than a month before its intended October release, it was again pushed back to February, 2017.
Trivia: While the film was mildly financially successful (bringing in over $80 million worldwide on a relatively small $25 million budget), it was seen as a disappointment for the studio, bringing in only about half the gross of its immediate predecessor ("The Ring Two"), and only about 1/3 the total gross of the first film. ("The Ring") Due to the film under-performing, the studio Paramount put an indefinite hold on another planned franchise revival - "Friday the 13th", fearing it would similarly perform below expectations.
Trivia: At one point in time, the filmmakers were interested in bringing back Naomi Watts to co-star and reprise her role from the first two films, but she turned down the project. Her character, Rachel Keller, is given a small nod as her name appears in the film very briefly when it is seen on a computer screen for a few seconds.
Trivia: Retired make-up effects maestro Rick Baker (who did the Samara effects in the first two films before his retirement in 2015), has a small cameo as a man at the flea market in the film. While his lines were cut, he is still visible in the background of the scene. Members of his former makeup team took up the mantle and supplied the Samara effects in this sequel.
Trivia: Some not-so-subtle foreshadowing to his character being a surprise villain - Vincent D'Onofrio's first name is "Galen." Which also happens to mean "crazy" in Swedish.
Trivia: The film's twist ending - the meaning of the mark on Julia's hand - was surprisingly spoiled in several of the trailers, which featured an unused line of the character Galen Burke directly and blatantly explaining that the mark means "rebirth." This line of dialogue is not in the finished film, and the characters only discover the mark's meaning about 60 seconds before the movie ends.
