New Paranormal Activity Cast Revealed

Set to debut next year, the cast of the upcoming Paranormal Activity has been revealed, which keeps in the tradition of its predecessors by featuring largely unknown performers. TheWrap details that Emily Bader (Broken Visions, Charmed), Roland Buck III (Chicago Med, Better Call Saul), Dan Lippert (The Grand Slams, Brooklyn Nine-Nine), and Henry Ayers-Brown (Blacklist, The Deuce) have been tapped to star in the upcoming horror film. The new film will be written by Christopher Landon and directed by William Eubank and, while it was originally slated to land in theaters, will seemingly be heading straight to the streaming service Paramount+ next March.

The original film debuted in 2009 and took a page out of the Blair Witch Project playbook, presenting itself as "found footage" of a couple who had purchased video equipment in hopes of capturing the bizarre events unfolding in their home. A key component of selling that premise was featuring unknown actors, with the five subsequent films sticking with that formula.

From a mythology standpoint, it was revealed that a spirit had targeted Katie (Katie Featherston) since she was a child, with those entities finally catching up with her as an adult. With each sequel, audiences would see unexpected ways in which Katie and these spirits would connect to new targets.

With each entry unfolding almost entirely in one home, and featuring lesser-known performers, they were able to be written, filmed, and released in a short amount of time. After the major profitability of the debut installment, sequels were released in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2014. The final sequel in this series, Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension, debuted in 2015.

Since this new installment was announced back in 2019, fans have wondered if the project would be a continuation of the previous films or a reimagining of the source material. This past February, the film was described as an "unexpected retooling," seemingly confirming it wouldn't directly connect to the films that came before it.

Following the project's initial announcement, production was largely delayed by the coronavirus pandemic. Earlier this year, it was announced that the film would be coming to Paramount+, though it had maintained its theatrical release date of March 4, 2022 in subsequent weeks. Recently, Paramount dropped the film from its theatrical release calendar, seemingly confirming that it would skip a theatrical debut entirely.

Stay tuned for details on the new Paranormal Activity before it debuts on Paramount+ on March 4, 2022.

Are you looking forward to the new film? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things horror and Star Wars!