‘Paranormal Activity’ Reboot Writer Hints At An “Exciting” Mystery Director
Writer/directorChristopher Landonhas carved out a nice corner of the genre space for himself over the past few years with theHappy Death Daymovies and the new body swap horror filmFreaky, which was just released in theaters today. But he’s returning to a familiar franchise as the writer of the upcomingParanormal Activityreboot, and now he’s teasing that the new film will be led by an “exciting” director who he describes as a “get.” Who could it be?
In an interview withDread Central, Landon was asked about his upcoming projects and he responded like this: “I’m writing the newParanormal Activitymovie; we’re rebooting that franchise. I’m super excited about the director, but I can’t say who it is because they won’t let me [laughs]. He’s a get. He’s awesome! I think people are going to be really surprised by where we’re taking this thing.”
First off, we have to pause and acknowledge that based on those comments, the unequivocal funniest person to direct this would be Landon himself. I would not only find any filmmaker talking himself up like that to be absolutely hilarious, but I would also respect the hell out of him laying the groundwork for it to be some big reveal, only for him to be announced as the guy a few weeks down the line when all of the paperwork has been finalized. And it would make sense, as Landon himself did directParanormal Activity: The Marked Ones.
But that’s my goofy guess. Let’s assume that the most hilarious option will not come true in this case. Who might be a contender to become theParanormal Activityreboot director? It has to be someone with a fair amount of clout or notoriety since he’s apparently a “get.” My first thought was that Sam Raimi would be a cool choice, but he’s tied up in the Marvel Cinematic Universe directingDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and theParanormal Activityreboot’s 2022 release date might make the timing too tough to overcome.
Then again, maybe it’s not someone with any significant ties to the horror genre. Based on Landon’s comments about how people will be surprised with the direction they’re taking the franchise, it might actually be more likely that the person is not entrenched in horror. So who comes to mind? Leigh Whannell? Rian Johnson? David Lowery? I want to read your own guesses in the comments below. Fire away.
