Slender Man is a creepy, wire-thin figure that needs no introduction. Revered as something of an Internet legend since its inception in 2009, ol’ Slender has stalked nightmares and effectively clawed his way into popular culture thanks to a string of nerve-shredding short films, an appearance in Microsoft’s über-popular Minecraft and even two video games of his own in Slender: The Eight Pages and Slender: The Arrival.
For such a presence in the horror scene, it’s small wonder why it’s taken so long for a Hollywood studio to fast-track a live-action feature film, but thankfully, Screen Gems jumped at the chance early last year. David Birke (Elle, 13 Sins) was appointed screenwriter on the nascent project, and though reports indicated Slender Man would be invited out to play (read: enter production) in late 2016, we now have word that Screen Gems’ horror picture will be ushered before the cameras in the spring, when French director Sylvain White (Stomp the Yard, The Losers) will be doling out the scares.
Birthed by Something Awful forums guru Eric Knudsen (AKA “Victor Surge”) as part of a suitably nightmarish PhotoShop contest, Slender Man, with his featureless face and impossibly large arms, has been attributed to the disappearance of countless children throughout the years. He/it is essentially the 21st century equivalent of the boogeyman (sorry, John Wick), and there’s plenty of raw material at Birke and now White’s disposal to engineer an entire series of blood-curdling horror films.
Slender Man will be invited out of the woods and before the cameras in time for spring 2017. No casting details were disclosed at this time, but we’ll inform you if and when Screen Gems divulges more information.
