Sony’s Screen Gems has landed a major new horror package, with John David Washington set to star in Mime, a supernatural thriller from Nanny director Nikyatu Jusu. According to Deadline, Screen Gems won the project after a competitive bidding war that reportedly included Amazon MGM Studios and Searchlight Pictures.
While Sony hasn’t released an official synopsis, Deadline reports that Mime is set in a New York City apartment complex during a heat wave-induced blackout, with the story unfolding against the backdrop of a sweltering city plunged into darkness. The screenplay was written by Stephen Herman, based on his own original idea, and the project is reportedly targeting a spring production start.
Washington is not only attached to star in the film, but will also produce alongside Matt Tolmach, Camilla Grove, and Scott Derrickson, who is producing through his Crooked Highway banner. Screen Gems has a first-look deal with Derrickson.
A major horror project for Nikyatu Jusu
Mime marks the latest high-profile genre project for Nikyatu Jusu, whose feature directorial debut, Nanny, made horror history by becoming the first horror film to win the U.S. Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. The film was later acquired by Blumhouse and Amazon for a reported $7 million before premiering on Prime Video.
Since the success of Nanny, Jusu has become one of horror’s busiest filmmakers… at least on paper. In 2022, it was announced that she would direct Suicide by Sunlight, a feature expansion of her acclaimed Sundance short film for Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions. The project centers on Black vampires whose melanin protects them from sunlight, but there have been no significant production updates since its announcement.
That same year, MGM revealed that Jusu would direct a new sequel to George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, with Christine Romero producing. However, the project later stalled over rights complications surrounding the public domain status of the original film. Christine Romero confirmed last year that the sequel is “currently in limbo,” with legal disputes preventing it from moving forward.
Jusu was also announced as the writer and director of The Fly, a new film set within the universe of David Cronenberg’s 1986 classic rather than a straightforward remake. That project, too, remains in development, with no production timetable having been announced.
While all three of those projects remain in various stages of development, Mime now appears poised to become Jusu’s long-awaited follow-up to Nanny.
John David Washington returns to genre filmmaking
Washington has built an impressive résumé spanning action, science fiction, and prestige dramas, with credits including Tenet, The Creator, Amsterdam, Malcolm & Marie, and The Piano Lesson. Although he has ventured into high-concept thrillers before, Mime looks to be one of his most horror-focused projects to date.
With Screen Gems backing the film, Scott Derrickson producing, and Jusu finally moving toward her sophomore feature, Mime is quickly shaping up to be one of the more intriguing original horror projects currently in development. No release date has been announced.
Are you interested in seeing John David Washington and Nikyatu Jusu team up for Mime? Let us know in the comments.
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