'Paranormal Activity' Reboot Writer Hints At An "Exciting" Mystery Director

Writer/director Christopher Landon has carved out a nice corner of the genre space for himself over the past few years with the Happy Death Day movies and the new body swap horror film Freaky, which was just released in theaters today. But he's returning to a familiar franchise as the writer of the upcoming Paranormal Activity reboot, and now he's teasing that the new film will be led by an "exciting" director who he describes as a "get." Who could it be?

In an interview with Dread Central, Landon was asked about his upcoming projects and he responded like this: "I'm writing the new Paranormal Activity movie; we're rebooting that franchise. I'm super excited about the director, but I can't say who it is because they won't let me [laughs]. He's a get. He's awesome! I think people are going to be really surprised by where we're taking this thing."

First off, we have to pause and acknowledge that based on those comments, the unequivocal funniest person to direct this would be Landon himself. I would not only find any filmmaker talking himself up like that to be absolutely hilarious, but I would also respect the hell out of him laying the groundwork for it to be some big reveal, only for him to be announced as the guy a few weeks down the line when all of the paperwork has been finalized. And it would make sense, as Landon himself did direct Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones.

But that's my goofy guess. Let's assume that the most hilarious option will not come true in this case. Who might be a contender to become the Paranormal Activity reboot director? It has to be someone with a fair amount of clout or notoriety since he's apparently a "get." My first thought was that Sam Raimi would be a cool choice, but he's tied up in the Marvel Cinematic Universe directing Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and the Paranormal Activity reboot's 2022 release date might make the timing too tough to overcome.

Then again, maybe it's not someone with any significant ties to the horror genre. Based on Landon's comments about how people will be surprised with the direction they're taking the franchise, it might actually be more likely that the person is not entrenched in horror. So who comes to mind? Leigh Whannell? Rian Johnson? David Lowery? I want to read your own guesses in the comments below. Fire away.

The Paranormal Activity reboot is currently scheduled to hit theaters on March 4, 2022.