Robert Pattinson teamed with "Smile" filmmaker Parker Finn to remake "Possession", the cult 1981 psychological supernatural horror movie written and directed by Polish filmmaker Andrzej Żuławski.
A bidding war broke out between A24, Netflix, Paramount, Sony, and Warner Bros for the remake. The process is in the early stages, with meetings taking place this week, other companies may enter the fray, according to sources.
Finn is attached to write the script, direct, and produce via his Bad Feeling banner. Pattinson is producing via his production company Icki Eneo Arlo.
Vertigo Entertainment’s Roy Lee, who helped produce Zach Cregger’s breakout Barbarian, is also producing.
Set in West Berlin, "Possession" starred Sam Neill as a spy who returns home from the field to his wife (Isabella Adjani) and son. All is not quiet on the marital front as the wife asks for a divorce and the couple next descends into a destructive cycle that not only includes infidelity and neglect but spins into murder, a tentacled alien creature, and doppelgangers.
The movie was Żuławski’s meditation on marriage, written as a reaction to his crumbling marriage.
It was an international co-production between France and Germany and despite the pic was not a hit nor particularly well-received when it was released, it gained a cult status for the filmmaker’s full commitment to the premise and went through a re-appraisal.
Finn, who is in post on "Smile "2, is looking beyond his horror franchise with "Possession", aiming for something more elevated but also still intimate.
After shooting a couple of shorts, the filmmaker made his feature debut with "Smile", which went on to become the biggest horror hit of 2022, grossing over $216 million worldwide.
The $17 million movie’s premise centered on a supernatural entity that made people commit suicide.
In the wake of that hit, he signed a first-look deal with Paramount and returned for "Smile 2".
"Possession" is not part of the first-look deal, which is why the studio, which has seen the sequel and is tremendously high on it, is now one of the bidders.
Pattinson made his last appearance on the big screen with 2022’s "The Batman". Up next he'll return with Bong Joon Ho’s "Mickey 17" in January 2025.
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