Scott Derrickson may no longer be attached to the “Doctor Strange” sequel, but it seems he’ll still remain close to the horror genre in the near future. The “Sinister” director has confirmed he will adapt Joe Hill‘s novella “The Black Phone.”
READ MORE: New Scientific Study Crowns Scott Derrickson’s ‘Sinister’ As The “Ultimate Horror Movie”
Derrickson is set to not only direct, but to co-write the adaptation with frequent collaborator C. Robert Cargill, who took to Twitter to tease the project’s plot better than we could have hoped for. “A kidnapped kid. A creepy, soundproofed basement. An ancient, disconnected phone. Then, when night falls, the phone rings.” Derrickson and Cargill are producing the film together with Blumhouse‘s Jason Blum. Joe Hill will executive produce “The Black Phone.”
Mason Thames (“For All Mankind“) and Madeleine McGraw (“Toy Story 4“) are set to star in the film based on the novella Joe Hill included in his “20th Century Ghosts” collection. Though not necessarily the best of the stories included in the collection, it is exciting to see Derrickson and Cargill reunite for a new horror project after “Sinister,” which was recently dubbed the “ultimate horror movie” by a scientific study. When it comes to the work of Joe Hill, it’s unfortunate that we’ve seen a spotty track record so far. Even the otherwise entertaining Netflix adaptation of “Locke & Key” does a poor job of translating the graphic novel, and “Horns” remains a film not worth discussing, so here’s hoping Derrickson and Cargill can break the curse.
READ MORE: Scott Derrickson To Direct A Sequel To Jim Henson’s ‘Labyrinth’
Though Derrickson has announced a few other projects the last few months, including a sequel to Jim Henson‘s “Labyrinth,” and a film about the Bermuda Triangle he’ll make with Cargill and starring Chris Evans, Derrickson confirms “The Black Phone” is his next project. He also teased that we can expect the film to be rated R.
