EXCLUSIVE: David Dastmalchian (Dune, The Suicide Squad), Marin Ireland (Y: The Last Man, The Umbrella Academy), Vivien Lyra Blair (Bird Box, Mr. Corman) and Madison Hu (Voyagers) have signed on to star alongside Chris Messina and Sophie Thatcher in 20th Century Studios horror-thriller The Boogeyman, based on Stephen King’s 1973 short story of the same name, which has entered production in New Orleans, and will debut in 2023 on Hulu in the U.S., on Star+ in Latin America, and on Disney+ under the Star banner in all other territories.
The film from director Rob Savage (Dashcam, Host) follows a 16-year-old and her younger sister, still reeling from the death of their mother, as they’re targeted by a supernatural boogeyman, after their psychologist father has an encounter with a desperate patient in their house.
Mark Heyman wrote the most recent draft of script, with Scott Beck & Bryan Woods (A Quiet Place) and Akela Cooper (Malignant) penning prior drafts. 21 Laps’ Shawn Levy, Dan Levine and Dan Cohen are producing, with Beck, Woods and Emily Morris serving as executive producers.
Dastmalchian recently wrapped filming a lead role opposite Corey Hawkins and Liam Cunningham in Amblin’s Last Voyage of Demeter from director André Øvredal. The actor was most recently seen opposite Timothée Chalamet and Oscar Isaac in Denis Villeneuve’s Oscar-nominated adaptation of Dune, and also starred alongside Margot Robbie, Idris Elba and John Cena in James Gunn and DC Films’ The Suicide Squad. He has also appeared in such films as Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, Bird Box, A Million Little Pieces, Ant-Man and Ant-Man and the Wasp, Blade Runner 2049, The Belko Experiment, Prisoners and The Dark Knight, and in series including MacGyver, Reprisal and Twin Peaks.
Ireland has appeared on the film side in The Empty Man, The Irishman, The Miseducation of Cameron Post, Piercing, Hell or High Water, The Family Fang, Side Effects, 28 Hotel Rooms, Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, Revolutionary Road, Rachel Getting Married, I Am Legend, The Manchurian Candidate and other titles, appearing on the TV side in Y: The Last Man, The Umbrella Academy, Sneaky Pete, Girls, Masters of Sex, Homeland, Mildred Pierce and more.
Blair’s film credits include Bird Box and Band Aid. She’s also featured in such series as Mr. Corman, Station 19 and Waco. Hu recently appeared in Lionsgate’s sci-fi thriller Voyagers, and has previously featured in the series Grace and Frankie and The Goldbergs, and Jason Bateman’s dark comedy Bad Words, among other projects.
21 Laps’ next projects include The Adam Project, directed by Levy, and the anticipated fourth season of Stranger Things. It also has Cheaper by the Dozen, Crater and an animated version of Night at the Museum launching this year on Disney+. The company is currently in pre-production on All the Light We Cannot See, which Levy is directing, and the second season of Shadow and Bone. Its reimagining of Romeo and Juliet, titled Rosaline, is in post-production for Hulu.
Recent releases from 20th Century Studios includeThe King’s Man, Death on the Nile, and Steven Spielberg’s Oscar-nominated adaptation of West Side Story.
Dastmalchian is represented by Atlas Artists Management and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller; Ireland by ICM Partners and Untitled Entertainment; Blair by Paradigm Talent Agency, Atlas Artists, Marnie Cooper Management and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller; and Hu by UTA, MGMT Entertainment and Brecheen Feldman Breimer.