Scott Snyder (Batman, We Have Demons) and Francesco Francavilla's (Afterlife With Archie) horror comic book series Night of the Ghoul is headed for a cinematic treatment.
According to Deadline, the Disney-owned 20th Century Studios (Prey, Avatar: The Way of Water) has acquired the screen rights to Night of the Ghoul, beating out a number of other studios and streamers. Rob Savage (Host, Dashcam) is attached to direct a film adaptation, with Shawn Levy (Deadpool 3, Free Guy, Stranger Things), Dan Levine (Free Guy) and Dan Cohen (Stranger Things) attached to produce. Snyder and Francavilla are attached as executive producers.
News of a Night of the Ghoul film comes a mere day before Snyder and Francavilla's original comic series begins its print run at Dark Horse Comics. The title initially ran as a digital, six-issue Comixology original from October 2021 to April 2022. Night of the Ghoul #1 hits shelves in print form tomorrow, Oct. 5, with issues #2 and #3 scheduled to follow suit on Nov. 2 and Dec. 7, respectively.
Night of the Ghoul Tells a Chilling Tale
"Shot in 1936, Night of the Ghoul by writer/director T.F. Merritt was meant to sit beside Frankenstein and Dracula as an instant classic... But the legendary film never made it to the silver screen," the official synopsis for Night of the Ghoul #1 reads. "Just before editing was finished, a mysterious studio fire destroyed the footage and killed the cast and crew celebrating at the wrap party. Forest Inman is a horror film obsessive who digitizes old films for the famed Aurora movie studio. When Forest stumbles across a seemingly forgotten canister of footage, he just might have discovered the remnants of the lost classic Night of the Ghoul. This discovery sends Forest on a dark odyssey, where he is warned by a mysterious old man that the film's ghoul is far more than a work of fiction: it's a very real monster who plans to kill him."
The planned film adaptation of Night of the Ghoul is not the first collaboration between 20th Century Studios, Savage and 21 Laps. Savage is directing a film adaptation of Stephen King's 1978 short story The Boogeyman, with Levy, Levine and Cohen attached as producers. Chris Messina (Birds of Prey) is slated to star in the film opposite Sophie Thatcher (Yellowjackets, The Book of Boba Fett) and David Dastmalchian (The Suicide Squad, Dune), among others. 20th Century Studios and Disney are expected to debut The Boogeyman as a Hulu original film in 2023.
Source: Deadline