For the reboot, Marlee is hiring a younger actor to play the teenage version of the Thin Kid. The narrator will replace him after he has put on the mask and completed his transformation. The narrator is initially apprehensive about the age of his body, but agrees because it will get the movie made. She adds that the younger actor, Jacob, will reprise the role at the end of the movie because she fears it wouldn’t be appropriate for the narrator to participate in the final kill scene.

The narrator asks about the budget of the film, leading Marlee to reveal that the studio has committed up to $25 million. This surprises the narrator, though it also assures him that Valentina and Cleo’s vision will be fulfilled. They discuss how Valentina was dissatisfied with a scene they had shot in Karson’s house, where one of the characters’ deaths had been downgraded to a throat-slash as a compromise. Marlee agrees the result was disappointing, especially after she compared the scene uploaded on YouTube to the screenplay. The narrator points out that Valentina’s choice to upload it anyway suggested that she accepted the compromise. They agree that whatever Valentina intended for the film ultimately worked.