The latest horror movie based on a work by Stephen King has found its leads. Last November, Host director Rob Savage was announced to be directing an adaptation of King’s short story The Boogeyman for Hulu. A couple of months later, the project has now found its two stars in the form of Yellowjackets breakout Sophie Thatcher and Birds of Prey‘s Chris Messina.
As per Deadline, Thatcher and Messina have boarded the 20th Century Studios project, which was originally developed under Fox, before the Disney takeover, and is now headed for a streaming release on Hulu. Before Savage was attached, A Quiet Place screenwriters Scott Beck and Bryan Woods were originally set to direct.
The Boogeyman is based on the tale of the same name from King’s seminal short story anthology Night Shift, first published in 1978. It is the 10th story (out of 20) in the collection to be brought to the screen, with other examples including Maximum Overdrive, Children of the Corn and 2021 series Chapelthwaite.
No character or plot details have been confirmed for the film version as yet, but we can make educated guesses based on King’s original piece. The short follows a teenage girl and her kid brother, reeling from the tragic death of their mother, who find themselves terrorized by the eponymous Boogeyman in their home, all while struggling to convince their grieving father of the truth before it’s too late.
Presumably, Thatcher is playing the teenage daughter, with Messina as the father. No further casting has been announced at this time. British actress Thatcher — known for her turn as young Natalie in the aforementioned Showtime hit — was most recently seen in an episode of Disney Plus’ The Book of Boba Fett. As for Messina, he’s got two other movies on the way: drama film Call Jane and sci-fi flick I.S.S.
As produced by Stranger Things‘ Shawn Levy through his 21 Laps Productions label, The Boogeyman is expected to start shooting next month.
