Renny Harlin (“Cliffhanger,” “Deep Blue Sea,” “Die Hard 2”) will direct a remake of the 2008 horror film “The Strangers” and turn it into a trilogy of films for Lionsgate starring “Riverdale” actress Madelaine Petsch, the studio announced Tuesday.
The new trilogy of films based on “The Stranger” will star Petsch alongside co-stars Froy Gutierrez and Gabe Basso.
The film will follows Petsch’s character as she drives cross-country with her longtime boyfriend to begin a new life in the Pacific Northwest, only for their car to break down in Venus, Oregon, where they’re forced to spend the night in a secluded Airbnb and are terrorized from dusk till dawn by three masked strangers. From there, the filmmakers are expanding the story in other ways over three films.
Production has already begun on “The Strangers” in Slovakia. Harlin will direct from a script by Alan R. Cohen and Alan Freedland (“The Freak Brothers,” “Due Date”). Lionsgate will distribute the film worldwide.
“My mother instilled the love of movies in me through the world of Hitchcock and other masters of suspense and horror,” Harlin said in a statement. “My breakthrough to Hollywood happened with the success of ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street 4.’ It is only fitting that I get to return to my favorite genre with the incredibly well written trilogy of ‘The Strangers.’ The characters and the storyline are all grounded in reality and offer me an endless tapestry of haunting visuals in bringing these movies alive.”
“When setting out to remake ‘The Strangers,’ we felt there was a bigger story to be told, which could be as powerful, chilling, and terrifying as the original and could really expand that world,” producer Courtney Solomon said. “Shooting this story as a trilogy allows us to create a hyperreal and terrifying character study. We’re fortunate to be joining forces with Madelaine Petsch, an amazing talent whose character is the driving force of this story.”
“The Strangers” is produced by Solomon, Mark Canton, Christopher Milburn, Gary Raskin, Charlie Dombeck and Alastair Birlingham and executive produced by Andrei Boncea, Dorothy Canton and Roy Lee, along with co-producer Rafaella Biscayn and Slovakia-based Frame Film SK. Johanna Harlin, Juan Garcia Peredo and Alberto Burgueno also co-produce the film.
Petsch is represented by CAA, Mosaic, The Lede Company and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman, Smelkinson & Christopher. Basso is represented by WME and Sugar 23. Gutierrez is represented by CAA, GTC Artists, Untitled Entertainment and full coverage communications.
Deadline first reported the news.
