The veteran filmmaker rose to prominence with his 1973 horror musical "The Wicker Man", which starred Lee, Edward Woodward and Britt Ekland, and 38 years later, he and Lee reunited to make 2011's "The Wicker Tree" as a companion piece for fans of the original, reported Contactmusic.
Now, Hardy is appealing to devotees to help him turn the series into a trilogy in memory of his longtime friend, who passed away last month.
"I always planned for there to be a number of films in what I like to think of as The Wicker Man genre, and although it has been a long time in the making, I think fans will find it worth the wait, especially as they can now get involved with the final film in a way that would have been unimaginable when I made the original more than 40 years ago," he said.
Actors James Mapes, Christopher Leveaux and Icelandic model Halla Williams are set to star in the film, with the shoot expected to begin in October.