Underwater helmer Will Eubank has just been set to direct Paranormal Activity 7 with franchise writer Christopher Landon returning to write the screenplay. Last year, it was announced that Blumhouse was reviving the found footage horror franchise with plans to release the next installment in 2022. At the time, producer Jason Blum also announced that Landon was coming on board to help develop the project, though there were no plans for him to write the script at that time.
“I am helping my friends and co-collaborators at Paramount set a new course for the franchise,” Landon said at the time. “I AM NOT writing the script nor am I directing the new movie. I am eager and excited to hand the reigns over to a fresh filmmaker who will undoubtedly reinvigorate this franchise that the amazing Oren Peli created so many years ago.”
Now, word is that Landon has decided to write the Paranormal Activity 7 script after all with the script described as an “unexpected retooling” of the franchise. Landon previously wrote the second, third, and fourth installments of the series before serving as both writer and director of the fifth. He has since branched outside of the franchise to direct the Happy Death Day movies, more recently directing and co-writing the Blumhouse movie Freaky.
William Eubank is known for directing last year’s horror movie Underwater with Kristen Stewart. Critical reception on the movie was mixed, but it did earn a lot of praise from fans of the horror genre. Previously, Eubank has also impressed viewers with his other directed features. He also directed the Laurence Fishburne sci-fi thriller The Signal and the sci-fi drama Love about an astronaut left stranded in outer space.
Shot with a small budget and first released in 2007, Paranormal Activity was written, directed, and edited by Oren Peli. Utilizing “found footage,” the movie follows a young couple (Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat) haunted by a supernatural entity in their home. To find out what’s happening, they set up a hidden camera to document the activity, revealing the presence of ghostly forces. It’s a simple premise that works incredibly well, resulting in a blockbuster hit and the start of a whole new franchise.
The last installment of the series, Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension, was released in 2015. This time, Landon was not involved as the sequel was directed by Gregory Plotkin and written by the team of Jason Harry Pagan, Andrew Deutschman, Adam Robitel, and Gavin Heffernan. Unfortunately, the sequel was widely panned with the lowest ticket sales of the entire series, putting an apparent end to the franchise at the time. Perhaps getting Landon back on board with Eubank at the wheel can help pull the nose back up and return the Paranormal Activity series to its former glory.
Series creator Oren Peli will be back to produce the new movie alongside Jason Blum of Blumhouse. Steven Schneider will executive produce with Landon. Paranormal Activity 7 is scheduled to be released in theaters on March 4, 2022. This news comes to us from The Hollywood Reporter.