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The Grin Gets a New Keeper as the Hit Franchise Changes Hands
Paramount has lined up a new creative team for the next chapter of its smile-driven curse saga, tapping The Night House and Hellraiser filmmaker David Bruckner to direct and Antlers writer Nick Antosca to handle the script, as first reported by Variety. Parker Finn, who wrote and directed the first two films, is handing over the reins but stays on as a producer with Temple Hill, and he came up with the basic concept for this third outing.
No story details have been shared yet. Each entry so far has stood on its own with a fresh protagonist, from Sosie Bacon’s haunted therapist in the 2022 original to Naomi Scott’s unraveling pop star in the 2024 follow-up, so there’s no word yet on who might be cursed next. Together the two films have pulled in more than $350 million worldwide, with the sequel turning a healthy profit on a budget of around $28 million.
Bruckner has become one of the busiest names in the genre. Along with The Ritual, he has a new take on The Blob in the works at Warner Bros., Universal’s The Caretaker with Sydney Sweeney, and Mice for A24. Antosca, meanwhile, co-created Hulu’s The Act and created Apple’s Cape Fear series.
Finn isn’t leaving Paramount behind. Under his first-look deal with the studio, he is directing a new version of Andrzej Żuławski’s 1981 cult chiller Possession, starring Callum Turner and Margaret Qualley, which is set to open June 11, 2027.
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Director: David Bruckner
Writer: Nick Antosca
Producers: Parker Finn, Temple Hill
Executive Producer: Jonathan Fass
Release Date: TBA
Source: Reporting and confirmation via Variety.