#horror – #PressRelease – @blumhouse – @ParamountPics – #Molepeople – #BenWheatley – #RobSavage – #LaKeithStanfield – #ParamountPrimal –
A New Filmmaker Heads Down Into New York’s Forgotten Tunnels
The underground horror film from Blumhouse Atomic Monster and Paramount Primal has a new director, with Kill List and High-Rise filmmaker Ben Wheatley stepping in for Rob Savage, as first reported by Variety. Savage, who was attached to direct, is leaving because of scheduling conflicts, and LaKeith Stanfield, who had been announced as the lead, is also no longer part of the project.
The movie was only unveiled earlier this month at Blumhouse Atomic Monster’s New York Comic-Con panel. Written by Nathan Elston, Savage’s screenwriting partner on Other Mommy, it follows a man who wanders into the disused tunnels under New York City and stumbles onto a warped community living out of sight beneath the streets. Ben Mendelsohn, whose casting was revealed alongside Stanfield’s, is still on board, and no reason has been given for Stanfield’s exit. Deadline notes the split is said to be amicable.
Savage isn’t leaving entirely; he stays on as an executive producer with Elston, Ryan Turek and Tracy Rosenblum. Jason Blum produces with Paramount Primal chiefs J.D. Lifshitz and Raphael Margules, plus James Harris. The two companies are co-financing and co-producing, and Paramount will handle distribution around the world.
Wheatley brings plenty of genre credibility to the job. Beyond the 2011 cult shocker Kill List, his work includes the folk horror A Field in England, the pandemic chiller In the Earth, Netflix’s take on Rebecca and Meg 2: The Trench, and his latest, the Bob Odenkirk thriller Normal, debuted in TIFF’s Midnight Madness lineup. Paramount still has the film dated for August 27, 2027, though it remains to be seen whether the shake-up affects a production start that had been eyed for late November in the UK.
Studios: Paramount Primal, Blumhouse Atomic Monster
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Director: Ben Wheatley
Writer: Nathan Elston
Cast: Ben Mendelsohn
Producers: Jason Blum, J.D. Lifshitz, Raphael Margules, James Harris
Executive Producers: Rob Savage, Nathan Elston, Ryan Turek, Tracy Rosenblum
Release Date: August 27, 2027 (theatrical)
Source: Reporting and confirmation via Variety.