Universal, Blumhouse and Platinum Dunes are moving forward with a third sequel to the pair’s Purge horror/thriller franchise, and have set a July 4, 2018 release date for the new installment. Franchise creator James DeMonaco is writing the new pic but has no plans to direct; he performed both duties on the previous movies. He will help the producers find another director for the fourth installment, right now known as the untitled Next Purge Chapter. The plot and concept of the new pic are under wraps.

The last pic in the series, Purge: Election Year, was the highest-grossing title in the series, grossing $79.2 million domestic and $118.6M worldwide when it bowed during the same Fourth of July frame last year. The original The Purge minted money on its low budget in 2013, grossing $64.5M domestic after and opening weekend take of $34.1M. The next pic, The Purge: Anarchy, did even better, grossing $111.9M worldwide in July 2014.

All in, The Purge franchise totals $315.4M at the global B.O. from combined production costs of $23M.

Blumhouse Productions’ Jason Blum returns to produce alongside Platinum Dunes partners Michael Bay, Brad Fuller and Andrew Form and DeMonaco’s longtime production partner Sébastien K. Lemercier.

Currently, the July 4 frame in 2018 only has one other movie on it: Disney’s Marvel tentpole Ant-Man And The Wasp, set for Friday, July 6. July 4 falls on a Wednesday next year.

Gerard McMurray, the director and co-writer behind the Sundance favorite Burning Sands, will take the action-horror Purge franchise to the next level.

McMurray has been tapped to helm The Purge 4, becoming the first filmmaker other than James DeMonaco to direct an installment of the movie series that hails from Blumhouse Productions, Platinum Dunes and Universal.

DeMonaco remains involved with the new installment, writing the script and having a hand in picking someone to pass the torch to.

Blumhouse’s Jason Blum, Platinum Dunes partners Michael Bay, Brad Fuller and Andrew Form and DeMonaco’s longtime production partner Sebastien K. Lemercier are producing the pic.

A July 4, 2018, release has been set.

The Purge series is set in a near-future America where once a year there is a 12-hour period where all crime, including the most insane acts of murder, are legal. The first movie, released in 2013, was a contained thriller that starred Ethan Hawke and made a healthy $64.4 million domestically on a $3 million budget, while 2014 follow-up Anarchy was an even greater success. By the time of Election Year, the third installment in 2016 that starred Frank Grillo, the story had expanded into a battle for America’s political future and was timely in its themes.

Plot details for Purge 4 are being kept secret.

"I have not seen a film as confidently directed in a long time as Burning Sands, and I'm excited to see Gerard's own expression of the Purge world," said DeMonaco, who is also working on bringing the world of Purge to television (simultaneously with the new film) in a series produced by Blumhouse and Universal Cable Productions.

McMurray hails from the low-budget indie world and was an associate producer on Ryan Coogler’s breakout, Fruitvale Station (2013). He made his feature debut co-writing and directing Burning Sands, a drama that looked at extreme hazing. The movie made its debut earlier this year at Sundance, where it was nominated for the festival’s grand jury prize and was scooped by Netflix.

McMurray is repped by CAA, Principato-Young Entertainment and Gang Tyre.

Behind every tradition lies a revolution. Next Independence Day, witness the rise of our country’s 12 hours of annual lawlessness. Welcome to the movement that began as a simple experiment: The First Purge.

To push the crime rate below one percent for the rest of the year, the New Founding Fathers of America (NFFA) test a sociological theory that vents aggression for one night in one isolated community. But when the violence of oppressors meets the rage of the marginalized, the contagion will explode from the trial-city borders and spread across the nation.