ScreamWire Daily

Disney/Lightstorm are reassessing the future of the Avatar franchise after Fire and Ash grossed roughly $1.4–1.5B worldwide, with James Cameron and Disney discussing cheaper, shorter next films and delaying/reevaluating planned theme-park expansion; the piece cites reported budget/marketing figures and tentative 2029/2031 release windows for parts 4 and 5.

Zachary Allard (writer-director) is mounting horror feature The Scorpion, a body-horror-leaning story about human cosmetic testing, starring Sonja O’Hara and Sebiye Behtiyar, produced by Exile Entertainment staffers and slated to shoot in Los Angeles later this year with Davon Slininger as cinematographer.

Netflix expanded its Argentina presence with a new Buenos Aires office focused on production and unveiled a broad Latin American slate including Pablo Larraín’s My Sad Dead (Mariana Enriquez adaptation), Sergio Mitre feature, Alex de la Iglesia project, and high-profile local series — signaling continued investment in regional genre and auteur-driven projects.

Lionsgate Motion Picture Group chair Adam Fogelson discusses the studio’s strategy after mixed outcomes — highlighting mid‑budget wins like The Housemaid and franchise underperformers such as Borderlands and The Crow — positioning Lionsgate to take advantage of any consolidation; the piece includes disclosed box office and budget figures for key titles.

Mike Flanagan has added 11 frequent collaborators — including Rahul Kohli, Hamish Linklater, Kate Siegel and Carla Gugino — to his untitled Exorcist film, which is shooting in New York and set for a wide theatrical release on March 12, 2027; Flanagan writes/directs and produces with Blumhouse‑Atomic Monster and Morgan Creek attached.

Sony Pictures will lay off hundreds as part of a company-wide restructuring to refocus resources toward growth areas like PlayStation game adaptations and anime (citing projects like God of War, Helldivers, Ghost of Tsushima) and is also closing VFX/virtual production studio Pixomondo.

Neto Villalobos’s tropical dystopian thriller Love Is the Monster has added Mexico’s Liminal Estudio, making it a five-way Latin American co-production with Paulina García attached and is using work-in-progress platforms (Primera Mirada) to close remaining post-production financing.

TIFF opened the TIFF Melissa Chung Studio inside TIFF Lightbox — a donor‑funded, fully equipped production hub (podcast, interviews, photo/video, digital series) funded by the Ibrahim Family Foundation to boost year‑round content production and rental capacity in Toronto’s entertainment district.

Data shows Netflix cut Q1 original film output to 23 titles—the fewest since 2017—with North American originals down to four and Europe also sharply reduced; Asia-Pacific was the only region to rise slightly, and the shift coincides with increased licensing and theatrical pay‑1 windows.

Emilia Clarke will headline horror When Darkness Loves Us from writer‑director James Ashcroft; Bleecker Street bought the film and plans a release next year with a cast that includes Victoria Pedretti, Marlon Williams and Natascha McElhone.

Sundance Institute named the 2026 Native Lab fellows — several projects skew genre, including Taylor Foreman-Niko’s The Long Fang (a Samoan folk-horror demon story) and Sabrina Saleha’s Grief Camp (a liminal grief/horror YA story); advisors include Patrick Brice and Bernardo Britto.

Fantastic Fest revealed its 20th-anniversary short film lineup (Sept 18–25, 2025) across flagship blocks—Fantastic Shorts, Short Fuse, Shorts With Legs, Drawn and Quartered—and a special Alum/India sidebar, highlighting world and US premieres across global genre short work.

Netflix's April K-drama slate shifts toward darker action and psychological thrillers, headlined by Bloodhounds Season 2 and the YA horror-leaning If Wishes Could Kill, Netflix's first Korean young-adult horror series debuting April 24.

Hulu's flagship sci‑fi survival series has begun production on its final season and Collider released the first production image, confirming the show is in active production toward a concluding run on the streamer.

Alexandra Shipp and KJ Apa have joined Nick Jonas and Kathryn Newton in Eli Craig’s holiday horror film WHITE ELEPHANT, expanding the cast on the genre-tinged seasonal project; production details beyond casting were not disclosed.

Stranger Things Season 5 finished its 91-day Netflix window with 133.8M completed views (1.39 billion hours), landing at #4 on Netflix's all-time English-language TV list — short of Season 4's 140.7M but still a major franchise performance that raises questions about future spin-off traction.

Dread Central has an exclusive clip and details for pandemic-set body-horror Itch!, a film written and directed by Bari Kang about a contagious condition driving people to scratch themselves to death; the film hits Cable/Satellite/Telco and Digital on April 21.

Undertone is a tense found-audio horror led by Nina Kiri with Michèle Duquet and Adam DiMarco, directed/written by Ian Tuason; the film emphasizes a disquieting audio landscape and opens in cinemas on April 10.

Philip Fracassi's Sarafina is an immersive historical horror that leans into classic genre tropes with confident storytelling and atmosphere, per Bloody Disgusting's review.

Adam McKay is developing a TV noir about the “collapse of journalism” alongside a crowded slate that includes Netflix-produced shark thriller Thrash and other projects still in active development with producing partner Kevin Messick.

The Occultist is praised as a classic paranormal-investigation experience — a game-format title that marries procedural detective work with supernatural storytelling, per Bloody Disgusting's review.

Concept artist Paul Chadeisson released Second Skin, a two‑minute hyper‑real 3D sci‑fi short showcasing worldbuilding and voiceover, highlighting his concept work (Dune: Part Two, Blade Runner 2049) and serving as a proof‑of‑concept for larger sci‑fi world projects.

Adrienne Barbeau reflects on how her relationship with John Carpenter helped secure her role in The Fog (1980) and says she remains active with two upcoming genre films (Oddities, Hannah Goes to Hell) and new books.

Nicholas Russell’s debut horror novel Observer will be published by Ecco/HarperCollins on September 15, 2026; preorder is open and the book interweaves three timelines in a desert-horror story.

A documentary titled 'Jaws Goes to the Bahamas' explores the behind-the-scenes production and legacy of the Jaws 4 shoot in the Bahamas, adding to the franchise’s archival and fan-interest coverage rather than announcing new production activity.

Lee Cronin is shooting a fresh, domestic-set take on The Mummy — filmed at Ardmore Studios and Almeria — produced by Blumhouse and James Wan’s Atomic Monster, centering on a missing girl returned in a sarcophagus whose reappearance terrorizes a family in New Mexico.

James Wan confirms his Call of Cthulhu adaptation is still in development but stalled by high projected costs—he calls Lovecraftian adaptations 'not cheap' and says he’ll keep chipping away at securing financing/packaging.

Noah Hawley is set to remake Argentine horror Terrified (Aterrados) for Warner Bros.; Demián Rugna — writer-director of the original — is developing with Hawley producing under his 26 production banner.

Spooky Pictures and Image Nation are co‑producing Home Safety Hotline, a horror‑thriller adaptation of Night Signal Entertainment’s puzzle game directed by Michael Matthews with a screenplay by Nick Tassoni; producers include Steven Schneider and Roy Lee and the film is pitched as analogue horror blending Severance and Stranger Things tones.

Zach Cregger says his upcoming Resident Evil reboot will prioritize the oppressive, survival-horror feel of the games over strict canon fidelity — he expects fan backlash if he strays but aims for an authentic gameplay-like intensity; the film has recently hit a key stage and is expected later this year.

Mike Flanagan purchased Rollergirl’s Boogie Nights skates at auction while shooting his Prime Video Carrie series — Flanagan is expanding Stephen King’s novel into a multi-episode modern retelling for Prime Video slated for 2026 and plans deeper focus on supporting characters.

Uma Thurman will return as Charley for season two of Paramount+'s Dexter: Resurrection alongside Michael C. Hall and Jack Alcott; Paramount+ has not yet announced a premiere date.

Blue Finch Films is handling international sales for Norwegian psychological horror You’ve Been Chosen, which will be presented at Frontières Proof of Concept during Cannes' market — the film (written/director Viljar Bøe) is being pitched to co-producers and buyers with Frontières positioning it as a violent, psychological thriller.

Bloody Disgusting (Cineverse) and Sandy King’s Storm King Productions launched 'John Carpenter Presents,' a branded slate of scripted horror podcasts — the first, Something Wicked, is an eight‑episode New Orleans supernatural crime series now available, with a second Carpenter‑branded fiction podcast in production.

ACTRA Toronto named Rob Halpin as its new executive director, a leadership hire that will influence local performer advocacy and production relations in Toronto’s film/TV ecosystem.

A24 revealed Backrooms’ runtime (105 minutes) and cast: Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve lead Kane Parsons’ feature debut, produced by A24, Chernin, Atomic Monster and 21 Laps with James Wan, Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen among producers; opens May 29 opposite Passenger.

The Draw is a UK dystopian sci-fi thriller about a politically motivated game show where free will is diminishing; the trailer premiered and the film is available digitally via Electric Entertainment.