Paranormal Activity Reboot Adds Underwater Director

A new take on Paranormal Activity is officially underway, with The Hollywood Reporter confirming that Underwater director William Eubank has been tapped to helm the film, which will also see the return of Christopher Landon as the writer. This marks the fifth installment into the series that Landon has written, who has since gone on to direct films like Happy Death Day and Freaky. Rather than being a continuation of the series, this new take is set to reimagine the concept, with the original 2009 film helping popularize the "found footage" horror concept and inspire countless imitators. The new Paranormal Activity is set to hit theaters on March 4, 2022.

The new film is being described as an "unexpected retooling" of the premise.

The debut film focused on a couple attempting to capture bizarre occurrences around their home, only for audiences to learn that Katie, played by actress Katie Featherston, had been the focus of otherworldly entities dating back to childhood. Over the course of five sequels, the films attempted to deviate from that core story, though it often found ways to circle back to the original connection between Katie and the supernatural.

The series grew so popular and were so cheap to produce that they premiered on an almost annual basis, with all six films premiering between 2009 and 2015.

Back in 2019, Landon detailed his passion for the franchise, though noted that there were only so many ways to continue the series, which likely explains why this upcoming project is a "retooling" as opposed to a continuation of the franchise.

"I think the creative forces behind that franchise, I think everyone's only interested in really doing it if it can be done well," Landon shared with ComicBook.com. "So it's another one of those 'see what happens' kind of a thing. I really loved that franchise and I enjoyed working and being a part of that team. It was an enormous amount of fun, but it was one of those things, too, that as the franchise went on, it was diminishing returns. It was a very difficult thing to sustain and that's the nature of franchise-building. So we'll see what happens there. But I don't think there's anything crazy happening just yet."

Stay tuned for details on the Paranormal Activity reboot before it hits theaters on March 4, 2022.

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