According to The Hollywood Reporter, Lionsgate has opted to adopt the psychological thriller The Strangers with Madelaine Petsch in the lead and Finnish filmmaker Renny Harlin at the helm. Besides Froy Gutierrez and Gabriel Basso (The Big C), the film also features (Teen Wolf). The film hopes to launch a series with subsequent instalments all shot in Bratislava, Slovakia. Scott Speedman played James, Liv Tyler played Kristen, and Kiefer Sutherland played the Man in the Mask in the original 2008 thriller by Bryan Bertino with the same name. There are three masked criminals in the movie that terrorise a couple who is staying at a holiday property.
The Mason family slayings of the Tate family and a string of home invasions that occurred in Bryan Bertino’s childhood area served as inspiration for the script. There have been parallels drawn by fans with the notorious Keddie cabin killings. In the new version, Petsch will portray a lady who, with the help of her longtime partner (Gutierrez), travels across the nation to start a new life in the Pacific Northwest. After their car breaks down, the two are stuck in an isolated Airbnb, where they will be terrorised by unknown assailants all night long. Alan R. Cohen and Alan Freedland wrote the script for the new version.
According to producer Courtney Solomon, “while setting out to adapt The Strangers, we believed there was a broader tale to be told, which could be as dramatic, disturbing, and horrifying as the original and could truly expand that universe.” Mark Canton, Christopher Milburn, Gary Raskin, Charlie Dombeck, and Alastair Birlingham will join Solomon in producing the feature film. While Andrei Boncea, Dorothy Canton, and Roy Lee serve as executive producers. Canton elaborated on Solomon’s comments, saying, “When you’ve got two horror aficionados like Courtney Solomon and Renny Harlin coming together, you’ve got all you need to create some incredibly smart, lean-forward-in-your-seat, addictively thrilling entertainment. Fans of the original film will be blown away; new audiences will discover the intensely unsettling world of The Strangers.”
In addition to her role as Marissa in F the Prom, Petsch is recognised for playing Cheryl Blossom on The CW’s Riverdale. Her filmography also includes roles in Netflix’s Sightless and Sabrina Jalgom’s Jane. Famous films directed by Basso include Super 8, a science fiction movie from 2011, and The Kings of Summer, a comedy-drama from 2013. Gutierrez is well-liked for his roles as Nolan Holloway on Teen Wolf and Jamie Henson in Cruel Summer. There is currently no other information regarding the project that can be shared.