The New 'Paranormal Activity' Could Bring Back A Familiar Face

If there's a main human villain for the Paranormal Activity movies, it's Katie Featherston, the possessed victim of the first sleeper hit who has been the only character to consistently appear in most of the installments of the horror franchise. Played by Katie Featherston (who was an unknown who starred by her own name in the original Paranormal Activity), Katie has appeared five times total through the franchise's six films. And she might be making a sixth appearance in the latest Paranormal Activity sequel that's currently in development.

Paranormal Activity may be one of the few major horror franchises without a recognizable "monster." It is, after all, about an unseen demon who possesses the bodies of its victims. But if there were to be a face to the franchise, it would be Katie Featherston, who has evolved from victim to lead villain of the series through her five appearances in the franchise. And Blumhouse chief Jason Blum teased that the newest Paranormal Activity might make that six appearances, telling Fandom:

You're right, I couldn't tell you if I knew. We're gonna do the movie. We're developing the movie, but I don't know where exactly the story's going to land. We're talking about different things. A hundred percent, we're making a movie, we just haven't gotten that far with the development. But I'll tell you this. I would love to bring her back and she's a great actress and she's an old friend and I hope we get to bring her back.

Featherston was an unknown when she starred in the original Paranormal Activity, a found footage horror film that became a sleeper hit, more than making back its microbudget of $15,000 with a $193 million total box office haul. The film's success would put Blumhouse on the map and launch a franchise spanning six films, five of which feature Katie, mostly in cameos. The series revolves heavily around the curse put on Katie's family, with a younger version of her character playing a central role in the prequel Paranormal Activity 3.

Throughout the Paranormal Activity franchise, Katie is the one character to consistently appear in most of the entries. Featherston would appear again as Katie in Paranormal Activity 3, Paranormal Activity 4, and Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones, with 2015's The Ghost Dimension the only film in which she doesn't make an appearance. However, the story's "ending" in Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension was left open-ended, and there's opportunity for the character to pop up again. And we may yet see her again in the seventh installment, which is still in development and has been delayed to March 4, 2022.