Published in 2020, author Adam Cesare gave rise to a new slasher villain in the horror novel Clown in a Cornfield, and Deadline reports this morning that a movie is on the way.

Eli Craig (Tucker & Dale vs. Evil) will direct the movie adaptation of the young adult slasher novel, which comes courtesy of producer Temple Hill Entertainment.

Carter Blanchard is adapting Cesare’s novel, which recently spawned a sequel. And Deadline’s report also teases that a third Clown in a Cornfield novel is in the works.

Here’s the official synopsis for Adam Cesare’s slasher novel…

“Quinn Maybrook and her father have moved to tiny, boring Kettle Springs, to find a fresh start. But what they don’t know is that ever since the Baypen Corn Syrup Factory shut down, Kettle Springs has cracked in half. On one side are the adults, who are desperate to make Kettle Springs great again, and on the other are the kids, who want to have fun, make prank videos, and get out as quick as they can. Kettle Springs is caught in a battle between old and new, tradition and progress. It’s a fight that looks like it will destroy the town. Until Frendo, the Baypen mascot, a creepy clown in a pork-pie hat, goes homicidal and decides that the only way for Kettle Springs to grow back is to cull the rotten crop of kids who live there now.”

“We love Eli Craig’s brand of scary fun and are thrilled to be working with him on this terrifying slasher adaptation that is both timely and timeless,” said Temple Hill producers.

“Nostalgia driven, elevated horrors that deliver on the promise of the genre – thrilling action, heart-stopping suspense and deeply satisfying endings – continue to dominate at the global box-office,” said Protagonist CEO Dave Bishop. “Our friends at Temple Hill are masters of taking this critical formula and creating wholly original stories that surprise, delight and gratify audiences and Eli is the perfect visionary to bring this special project to its full potential.”