Stephen King's The Boogeyman Adaptation Adds Yellowjackets and Birds of Prey Stars

By Patrick Cavanaugh

After being in development for years, the adaptation of Stephen King's The Boogeyman is making some headway by adding Yellowjackets and The Mandalorian star Sophie Thatcher, as well as Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) star Chris Messina, per Deadline. The adaptation is set to be directed by Rob Savage, who delivered audiences the surprise hit Host, a film that was entirely conceived, shot, and released during the pandemic and explored the concept of a seance being conducted over Zoom. The new film will reportedly be heading into production next month and will be debuting on Hulu.

The story follows a man whose three children died under mysterious circumstances at young ages, with the major connecting factor being that all deaths took place when they were left alone in their bedrooms. Additionally, all three children exclaimed, "Boogeyman!" before perishing.

The original short story comes from King's Night Shift collection, with other stories from the collection earning the films Children of the Corn, Maximum Overdrive, and The Mangler.

Writer Mark Heyman is the most recent contributor to the script, with the project previously having been developed by A Quiet Place creators Scott Beck and Bryan Woods and with Malignant writer Akela Cooper also having contributed to the project.

Beck and Woods previously teased their initial approach to the project back in 2020.

"We've got a script that we're super excited about," Woods shared with ComicBook.com. "I think development is kind of growing and changing and evolving, but it's been ... I don't know. It was a really fun project."

Beck added, "You always have to get your script, basically, blessed by Stephen King once you basically have a draft, and he gave the thumbs up on that. We're not sure ... with the Disney and Fox merger, that's the only big hiccup and we're off in pre-production land on our next movie. But, outside of that, yeah. We're hoping, fingers crossed, that that movie can see the light of day sooner than later."

Given the evolution A Quiet Place underwent once John Krasinski came on board that project, it's unclear how much the narrative has changed since the early stages of development.

Stay tuned for details on The Boogeyman.

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

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