Movies
TV: ‘House of Wax/Orphan’ Director Takes ‘Paranormal’ Trip Down ‘River’
The Paranormal Activity team are taking their talents to television and have entrusted House of Wax/Orphan director Jaume Collet-Serra to deliver the goods.
Collet-Serra, director of the upcoming thriller Unknown starring Liam Neeson, will make his TV directing debut with the ABC pilot “The River,” a horror drama from Paranormal Activity writer-director Oren Peli.
Described as being in the mold of Paranormal Activity, “The River” centers on a family who travels to the deep Amazon to locate and rescue their missing father. Peli co-wrote the first draft with Paranormal Activity 2 scribe Michael Perry. “Heroes” veteran and “Kings” creator Michael Green then did a p.1 rewrite, which was greenlighted to pilot.
Brendan Fraser is back for the upcoming fourth installment in The Mummy franchise from directors Radio Silence, and Michael Johnston (Obsession) is now in talks to join him.
The Hollywood Reporter lets us know tonight that Michael Johnston is in “early talks” to join The Mummy 4, which will release in theaters on October 15, 2027 via Universal.
Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, and John Hannah will reprise their iconic roles as Rick O’Connell, Evelyn O’Connell, and Jonathan Carnahan in the upcoming movie.
Radio Silence duo Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett (Ready or Not, Scream 5-6) are directing from a script by David Coggeshall (Orphan: First Kill).
Plot details are being kept under wraps at this time, but the brand new sequel is expected to disregard the events of the third movie, in which Rachel Weisz did not appear.
“It’s just really beautiful and scary and sweeping, and it’s awesome,” Gillet teases. Bettinelli-Olpin adds that the film “has all of the heart and the character that you could hope for.”
A remake of the classic Universal monster movie that took an action-adventure approach, The Mummy was released in 1999 and grossed $417 million worldwide. It was followed by The Mummy Returns in 2001 and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor in 2008.