EXCLUSIVE: Jessica Chastain looks to be making a return to the horror genre in a big way as sources tell Deadline the Oscar-winner has signed on to star in the latest film from director Rob Savage with Atomic Monster and Blumhouse producing. Savage will direct with Atomic Monster and Blumhouse producing in association with Spin a Black Yarn for Universal Pictures. Succession writer Nathan Elston is penning the script, which is based on the novel titled Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman.
While details behind the film are unknown, in the Malerman novel, the story revolves around a haunting told from the perspective of a young girl whose troubled family is targeted by an entity she calls “Other Mommy.”
James Wan is producing the film. Michael Clear, Judson Scott, Macdara Kelleher, Savage, Malerman, Ryan Lewis are executive producers. Alayna Glasthal is the executive overseeing the film for Atomic Monster.
While Chastain is best known for her Oscar-nominated work in Zero Dark Thirty and The Eyes Of Tammy Faye (which won her the Oscar), she’s no stranger to the horror genre. She starred in the 2013 horror hit Mama, which helped launch the career of It director Andy Muschietti, and would later reunite with him on the blockbuster hit, It: Chapter Two.
Other notable roles for Chastain include the astronaut Melissa Lewis in The Martian, the enigmatic Murph in Interstellar, as well as the real-life figure Molly Bloom in Molly’s Game. In addition to these notable roles, Jessica has appeared in numerous other films, including Take Shelter, Lawless, Miss Sloane, and Crimson Peak. On television, she starred in the critically acclaimed miniseries George & Tammy for Showtime and Scenes from a Marriage for HBO.
Her notable roles in theatre include Nora in Jamie Lloyd’s A Dolls House, Catherine Sloper in The Heiress, and Salome opposite Al Pacino.
Jessica’s talent extends behind the camera through Freckle Films, a New York based film and television production company, which she launched in 2016. In addition to The 355, The Eyes of Tammy Faye, and George & Tammy, Freckle Films has produced the film, Mothers’ Instinct for NEON, the upcoming Apple Originals’ limited series, The Savant, and Michel Franco’s upcoming film Dreams.
As for Savage, he most recently directed the Stephen King adaptation of The Boogeyman. 21 Laps produced the film for Twentieth Century Studios, starring Sophie Thatcher, David Dastmalchian & Chris Messina which was released in June 2023.
At the start of the pandemic in 2020, Savage wrote, directed, and released the feature film Host. The film still has a 99% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and was considered by many to be the best horror film of the year. Following up Host, he wrote and directed Dashcam in 2021, which Blumhouse produced and premiered at TIFF that year.
Chastain is represented by CAA and Mosaic, Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman, Newman, Warren, Richman, Rush, Kaller, Gellman, Meigs & Fox. Savage is represented by WME, Exile Entertainment, JATWMM & Independent Talent in the UK. Elston is represented by UTA. Malerman is represented by Ryan Lewis of Spin a Black Yarn; Kristin Nelson of Nelson Literary Agency; and Wayne Alexander of Alexander Lawrence Frumes & Labowitz.
