New André Øvredal to direct mysterious horror project for Paramount hcw888

At the start of last year, former DC Films boss Walter Hamada signed a first-look deal with Paramount Pictures, the idea being that he would become, as Deadline put it, “the architect of Paramount’s mainstream horror genre pod, with the mission to release several low- to mid-budget films per year across theatrical and streaming.” Recently, there have been casting announcements for a movie called Primate, which is being directed by genre regular Johannes Roberts and is part of Hamada’s horror-minded efforts at Paramount. Now, Deadline has broken the news that another Hamada horror project that’s moving forward at Paramount has gotten another genre regular, Andre Ovredal, to sign on as director.

Ovredal will be directing this other film from a screenplay written by Zachary Donohue and T.W. Burgess. Donohue previously directed and co-wrote the 2013 found footage horror film The Den and wrote and directed the TV series The Unknowable. Burgess is an award-winning writer and digital artist who has written several graphic novels. Details on the story they’ve crafted for this project are being kept under wraps… and this project is so secretive, Paramount hasn’t even revealed a title.

Hamada is producing Primate through his 18hz production company alongside John Hodges and Bradley Pilz. For this movie, he’ll be producing with It screenwriter / Salem’s Lot director Gary Dauberman of Coin Operated.

Andre Ovredal’s previous credits include The Last Voyage of the Demeter, Mortal, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, The Autopsy of Jane Doe, and Troll Hunter. We recently heard that the sequel to Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark has stalled out and Francis Lawrence is making the Stephen King (technically, Richard Bachman) adaptation The Long Walk, which Ovredal was once attached to. Since he’s missing out on those highly anticipated projects, it’s good to hear he has found a different horror project to direct.

Are you a fan of Andre Ovredal’s work, and are you glad to hear that Walter Hamada has brought him in to direct one of his Paramount horror films? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.