Stranger Things Star Finn Wolfhard to Co-Direct New Horror Movie

Stranger Things and IT Chapter 1 star Finn Wolfhard is set to make his writing and directing debut. According to Deadline, Wolfhard is set to co-write, co-direct, and co-star in Hell of a Summer with Billy Bryk (Wynonna Earp), a new film described as being "a contemporary horror-comedy," but plot details are being kept under wraps. Wolfhard and Bryk previously worked together on Ghostbusters: Afterlife, they'll star in Hell of a Summer along with The White Lotus' actor Fred Hechinger. 30West (I, Tonya, Tiger King, Assassination Nation) are financing and producing the film which kicks off production in Ontario, Canada later this month. 

"I am so excited to be co-directing my first feature film," Wolfhard said in a statement. "I get the chance to work with an incredible cast and crew, and to work with a company like 30WEST and Aggregate is a real dream." Jason Bateman and Michael Costigan's Aggregate Films banner will produce the feature.

Wolfhard has spoken openly in the past about about his desire to become a director, revealing in a previous interview with CTVnews.com that becomign a director was the entire reason he even started acting. "That's why I wanted to get into acting, is because I wanted to be a director and I thought that if I acted, I could get a lot of experience just on set and learn a lot on set while also having an awesome time....I'm writing something now that I'm still trying to figure out. It's more of an outline. I'm still developing the acts and stuff." He even teased the upcoming Hell of a Summer in 2021, telling NME that he was working on "a horror-comedy-slasher movie that takes place at a camp."

As fans no doubt recall, Wolfhard's career as an actor has long been entrenched in the horror genre. Not only has he appeared in the role of Mike Wheeler across four seasons of Stranger Things, but starred in the two billion-dollar IT movies as Richie Tozier. He also appeared in an episode of Supernatural and did a voice in the animated reboot of The Addams Family. Wolfhard also previously wrote and directed the short film Night Shifts, which starred his Hell of a Summer collaborator Billy Bryk.