Eli Roth Creating New Horror Franchise Clownpocalypse

In case you thought that the release of IT: Chapter Two might see the end of creepy clowns on the big screen, we have some bad news. A new announcement by video game and entertainment company 3BlackDot and horror filmmaker Eli Roth reveals that anyone suffering from coulrophobia will need to look over their shoulders in all forms of media with their new franchise, Clownpocalypse. Though the “plot” fo the franchise is being kept under wraps, fans can no doubt start guessing based on the title alone. This new franchise won’t be limited exclusively to movies though and is being developed as a feature film, video game, live event, short-form series, and merchandise.

Roth and writer James Frey are developing the plot of the project, which we can only assume is based around Clowns. Philip Gelatt (Love Death + Robots) is set to pen the screenplay for the feature film with the search for a director ongoing. Production on the movie is targeting a start date later this year.

“I’ve had an amazing time collaborating with James Frey and the incredible team at 3BlackDot,” Roth said in a statement to Deadline. “From concept to art to the game play, every step of the way, no idea has been too crazy, and they’ve executed it at the highest level. For years I’ve had people tell me ‘You can’t do that in a game, it’s too insane’ and I finally found partners who said, ‘Let’s take this a step further.’ It feels like we’re making a game, movie and live experience with no parental supervision or studio to tell us to tone it down, and that’s the only way to create something spectacular and memorable. This will be a big, fun, scary event for gamers, movie fans, and people who love live events. The Clownpocalypse is coming. Get ready.”

3BlackDot President Reginald Cash added, “As a studio, we’re committed to developing and financing the most innovative content experiences. We are thrilled to continue to work with great visionaries and storytellers such as Eli and Philip in creating immersive worlds that traverse film, games, and live events. Audiences are in for a real surprise.”

This isn’t Roth’s first experience with clown-themed horror having previously produced the 2014 horror movie Clown. That film, the directorial debut of Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home‘s Jon Watts, saw a man transformed into a feral, killer clown after wearing a clown costume.

Following the success of the IT movies, with the 2017 original becoming the highest grossing horror movie of all time, an entire franchise based around a killer clown concept could prove to be fruitful for Roth and company.

(Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)