Kumail Nanjiani is set to make his directorial debut with the upcoming horror comedy “Howl,” which has been acquired by Amazon MGM’s Orion Pictures with the comedian also set to star and produce.
Written by Madison Vanderberg, “Howl” will see Nanjiani play a troubled actor who makes a bombshell announcement on a talk show: he’s a werewolf, and he is going to transform in one hour on live TV. Vanderberg’s screenplay was selected for the Black List in 2024.
Nanjiani and his wife, Emily V. Gordon, will produce through their Winter Coat Films banner alongside Dani Melia. Weed Road Pictures’ Akiva Goldsman, Greg Lessans and Rachel Wizenberg will also produce with Wizenberg overseeing the project.
Nanjiani most recently received a Golden Globe nomination for his Hulu comedy special “Night Thoughts” and appeared on the 21st season of the hit British comedy series “Taskmaster.” He and Gordon are currently adapting the comic book series “Sex Criminals,” which was picked up by Amazon MGM alongside the comedy film “Compulsive Liar,” which Nanjiani will co-write and produce.
Nanjiani is also set to appear in the upcoming fourth season of HBO’s “The White Lotus,” the FX series “Very Young Frankenstein,” and Judd Apatow’s upcoming comedy feature “The Comeback King.” He and Gordon are repped by UTA, Mosaic, and Schreck Rose.
At Weed Road, Goldsman’s upcoming series include, ‘Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea,’ ‘Land of the Giants’ and ‘The Time Tunnel.’ He is repped by CAA, TFC Management, and Hansen Jacobsen Teller.
Vanderberg is a former entertainment news and pop culture writer. She is currently writing the feature comedy ‘Corporate Retreat’ for Netflix.
The project was first reported by Deadline.
