Robert Pattinson Developing Horror Movie Remake ‘Possession’

‘Smile’ director Parker Finn is attached to write and oversee the new movie, which will tackle a dissolving marriage, a story first told in a 1981 cult film.

Robert Pattinson for 'Mickey 17' at CinemaCon 2024. Photo: Warner Bros.

Preview:

Robert Pattinson is starring in a remake of ‘Possession’.
‘Smile’ filmmaker Parker Finn is writing and directing.
It’ll chart a similar story to Andrzej Żuławski’s 1981 movie.

Robert Pattinson has earned a reputation for working with interesting directors for unusual projects –– see the likes of the Safdie brothers’ ‘Good Time’, David Cronenberg’s ‘Cosmopolis’, or Claire Denis’ ‘High Life’.

He’s now teaming up with Parker Finn –– the writer/director behind ‘Smile’, the biggest horror hit of 2022 –– to develop a new take on Andrzej Żuławski’s cult 1981 horror movie ‘Possession’.

Possession

"Inhuman ecstasy fulfilled."

NR2 hr 4 minOct 15th, 2021

Showtimes & Tickets

Watch Possession Online

What’s the story of ‘Possession’?

1981's 'Possession'. Photo: Gaumont.

Written by Żuławski and Frederic Tuten, ‘Possession’ is set in West Berlin and stars 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 own crumbling relationship. An international co-production between France and Germany, ‘Possession’ not a hit nor particularly well-received when it was released, but it gained a cult status for the filmmaker’s full commitment to the premise and went through a re-appraisal.

Who will produce the new ‘Possession’?

Caitlin Stasey in Paramount Pictures Presents in Association with Paramount Players A Temple Hill Production 'Smile.'

Right now, the project is at a very early stage. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Finn and Pattinson have been sending the pitch out to various companies and the likes of A24, Netflix, Paramount, Sony and Warner Bros. are all interested. Meetings are scheduled for this week, and more companies are expected to enter the fray.

Reactions to whatever concept Finn and Pattinson have cooked up have been strong, though there are apparently discussions ongoing about how to market the movie. If we’re honest, A24 feels like it might be the best fit for this one, even though Finn’s first-look deal with Paramount may give that studio an edge.

Finn broke out big with ‘Smile’, which starred Sosie Bacon in the story of a psychiatrist who becomes convinced she’s the target of an unnatural entity that causes its victims to display a rictus grin.

The director has already shot sequel ‘Smile 2’, which is in post-production and will be in theaters on October 18th.

What else is Pattinson working on?

While Pattinson hasn’t yet decided if he’ll star in the new movie –– you’ve got to figure that would be a big selling point for any studio –– he’s also got a relatively open schedule right now.

He’s scheduled to work on the sequel to ‘The Batman’ next year, but his next film to be released in Boon Jong Ho’s sci-fi comedy drama ‘Mickey 17’, which will be in theaters on January 31st, 2025.