Actor/comedian Kumail Nanjiani first revealed late last year that he was planning to make his feature directorial debut with a horror movie called Howl, a project that immediately caught our attention because of Nanjiani’s well-documented love of genre films. At the time, plot details were being kept completely under wraps. Now, there’s a major update: according to Deadline, Orion Pictures has landed the project, and we finally know what the movie is about.
Howl follows:
A famous but notoriously troubled actor who announces on a talk show that in less than an hour, he’ll turn into a werewolf — on live TV.
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That’s an attention-grabbing set-up, and horror fans may notice that it almost sounds like a feature-length expansion of the ending of the 1981 classic The Howling, where a live television werewolf transformation leaves audiences questioning what they’ve just witnessed. Whether that’s a direct inspiration or a fun coincidence remains to be seen.
The screenplay was written by Madison Vanderberg and previously earned a place on the 2024 Black List, the annual survey of Hollywood’s most-liked unproduced screenplays. Vanderberg is a former entertainment news and pop culture writer who is currently writing the feature comedy Corporate Retreat for Netflix, making Howl another high-profile project on her growing résumé.
Nanjiani will direct and star in the film while producing alongside Emily V. Gordon and Dani Melia through their Winter Coat Films banner. Deadline also reports that Weed Road Pictures’ Akiva Goldsman, Greg Lessans, and Rachel Wizenberg are producing.
When Nanjiani first discussed the project on the Comedy Means Business podcast, he explained:
“[Directing] was like this vague thing I wanted to do, but it wasn’t until I read this script that came to me to act in that I was like, ‘Okay, I don’t know if I know how to direct, but I think I know how to direct this movie.’ That’s kind of how it happened.”
He also explained why horror felt like the perfect genre for his first film.
“Emily and I are huge genre fans. We watch every sci-fi movie. We watch every horror movie. It wasn’t like I was specifically looking to direct a horror movie or anything; it was just this movie. I get this movie. It’s got a very specific tone, and I was like, ‘I see this tone in my head. I know exactly how this should be.'”
Nanjiani cited filmmakers like Jordan Peele, Josh Ruben, and Zach Cregger as examples of comedians who successfully transitioned into horror filmmaking, giving him confidence to make the leap himself.
While he’s best known for comedy, Nanjiani has also built a list of genre credits over the years, including Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, Destroy All Neighbors, Hell Baby, episodes of The X-Files and The Twilight Zone, voice work on The Walking Dead video game, and the upcoming series Very Young Frankenstein.
What do you think of the premise for Howl? Does it remind you of the ending of The Howling, or do you think Nanjiani has something completely different in mind? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
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