The new Paranormal Activity reboot movie has moved forward with a new director. This horror franchise was born by creative Oren Peli, who conceived of the original 2009 movie’s story and screenplay, and also directed the film. After success, Paranormal Activity 2 came out just one year later in 2010.

The franchise got fairly back-to-back releases for the first six films, and then went on a significant hiatus. The most recent movie in the franchise was Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin, which came out in 2021. Now, another Paranormal Activity reboot film is on the books.

The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed the director of the next Paranormal Activity film. The project has found its new director in filmmaker Ian Tuason. Tuason is reportedly in final negotiations for the job. Peli will still produce the movie.

Paranormal Activity 8 also has other notable activity going on with horror icon James Wan joining the team as a producer. While Wan is known for horror franchises such as The Conjuring and Insidious, this will be the first time he has touched the Paranormal Activity franchise.

The announcement of Tuason’s role in the project arrives just under two weeks after forward progress on the project was announced. In that announcement, it was determined that Paramount Pictures would pair with Blumhouse-Atomic Monster on the upcoming reboot film.

This rapid forward progress is significant in the lifespan of the eighth Paranormal Activity film. All the way back in 2022, it was announced that another reboot, then titled Paranormal Activity: The Other Side, was in the works and would come out in 2023.

That project never came to fruition, leading to a longer gap between Paranormal Activity movies. While it is possible that the franchise could flounder again, the multiple updates this month are a good sign that this will move forward.

As for the selection of Tuason, this will give a big franchise opportunity for an up-and-coming horror director. Tuason only made his debut this year with Undertone, which premiered at the 29th Fantastia International Film Festival. It received the audience award for Canadian movie.

Undertone soon entered a bidding war, and was eventually purchased by A24. This excitement shows that Tuason has gotten a significant start in the horror industry, especially in the paranormal niche. Now, Paramount’s work with Tuason on Paranormal Activity 8 can further cement the director as a horror talent to watch out for.

Created by

Oren Peli

Cast

Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat, Sprague Grayden, Molly Ephraim, Chris J. Murray, Brit Shaw, Emily Bader, Roland Buck III, Dan Lippert, Henry Ayres-Brown