In an interview last year, Paranormal Activity reboot writer Christopher Landon said he was “super excited” about the yet-to-be-announced director who would be shepherding that vision to the big screen. “I can’t say who it is because they won’t let me. He’s a get. He’s awesome! I think people are going to be really surprised by where we’re taking this thing.”
Now that mystery has been solved. A new report says that the Paranormal Activity reboot director will be William Eubank, who most recently directed the Kristen Stewart-starring aquatic horror film Underwater.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Will Eubank will slide into the director’s chair of Paramount Players’ upcoming reboot of the Paranormal Activity film franchise, which is being described as an “unexpected retooling.” That immediately made me wonder if the franchise might shrug off the found footage aesthetic that defined its early success, but THR clarifies that the found footage approach will still be utilized in this retooling.
Landon wrote four of the Paranormal Activity movies and has become one of the primary architects of the narrative complexities of the supernatural horror franchise, so for him to still be involved with this “unexpected retooling,” I’m wondering if the “unexpected” aspect might involve tapping into characters or corners of that established mythology that we’ve seen already and putting them in a new context. Landon, who has gone on to write and direct Freaky and the Happy Death Day movies, has a playful creativity in his writing, so I’m very curious to see exactly how this new version might breathe some life back into this series.
As for Eubank, he’s arguably best known for directing Underwater, but he also made a splash with his 2014 science fiction mystery The Signal, and I’m intrigued to see what kind of visual touches he decides to put on this latest entry. He’s exactly the type of exciting up-and-comer that should be tackling a project like this, using it as another building block in his burgeoning career.
Oren Peli, who wrote and directed the original 2007 film, will produce alongside Blumhouse’s Jason Blum; the pair have produced every entry in this franchise so far. Steven Schneider, who executive produced all of the previous films (save for the third one, which he served as a producer), will be returning to executive produce this installment as well.
The Paranormal Activity reboot is currently scheduled to hit theaters on March 4, 2022.
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