Director Christopher Landon (Freaky, Happy Death Day) has wasted precisely no time finding his next project. Landon, who most recently directed Netflix’s We Have a Ghost, had been on deck to direct Scream VII. Unfortunately, the sequel became mired in messy situations with the cast and after Melissa Barrera was dropped from the film, Jenna Ortega departed the project. Landon soon followed. But he is moving from Ghostface to Werewolves as the filmmaker is now set to adapt Big Bad for the big screen.
According to Deadline, Landon has been tapped to direct an adaptation of Chandler Baker’s short story of the same name for Lionsgate. While the studio has yet to close the deal, it sounds like things are rapidly headed in that direction. Baker is due to write the screenplay based on her own story, which was published last year. Todd Lieberman is set to produce the film, with Scott O’Brien overseeing for the studio. Carly Kleinbart and Alex Young are set as executive producers. As for the story at hand? The logline for the story reads as follows:
“The Strauss family is on knife’s edge. Sam is a resentful stay-at-home dad. Rachel feels the restlessness in her blood returning. Their children are getting out of hand. And a recent mudslide has forced the wolves out of the woods to look for food. As dusk falls and tensions rise, the family must come together to survive the night—from the threats outside and those within.”
There is no word yet on who might be eyed to star in the film, nor is it clear how quickly production could begin. That said, it’s not hard to imagine this one coming together in a hurry. Horror has been the most reliable genre at the box office over the last few years and, at present, werewolves feel a little underrepresented, at least in studio genre films. It feels like a good time to amend that.
Landon is known best for writing several of the Paranormal Activity sequels, but he has much more on directing in recent years. He directed the time-loop slasher film Happy Death Day and its sequel. Sadly, we’re still waiting for Happy Death Day 3. Landon also helmed the body-swapping horror/comedy Freaky, which was tragically hampered by the pandemic, as well as Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse. As for Baker, this would serve as her feature screenwriting debut.
Big Bad does not currently have a release date.
