According to THR, the Paranormal Activity franchise is set to become a stage play. I can’t say I saw that one coming.
Simon Friend, who commissioned the Life of Pi stage play, picked up the license to Paranormal Activity and is seeking to bring it to the West End. Grey House scribe Levi Holloway has signed on to write the play, but the project is still in early development at this time. Although I wouldn’t necessarily call myself a fan of the franchise, I’ve got to admit that I’m a little curious about how they plan to adapt the found-footage story to the stage.
The original Paranormal Activity movie was written and directed by Oren Peli and followed Katie and Micah, a young couple who have recently moved to a new house and are being terrorized by a demon that has stalked Katie since childhood. The found-footage film was made up of security camera footage and other sources. It’s also been called one of the most profitable films ever made, as it was originally shot for just $15,000 and went on to gross $194 million worldwide.
The success of the first movie quickly led to sequels, including Paranormal Activity 2, Paranormal Activity 3, Paranormal Activity 4, Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones, Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension, and Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin.
It remains to be seen if another sequel will follow, but producer Jason Blum said last year that it was time for the franchise to end. He also wasn’t too fond of the last sequel. “It has been enough already,” Blum said. “That last Paranormal Activity movie was terrible. With Halloween, we only had the rights to three movies, so we said: Halloween Ends! It ends for Blumhouse, at least. With other things, you just have this feeling it’s time to put them to bed. It would come back if some director I love, like Scott Derrickson, said: ‘I have a great idea for a Paranormal Activity movie. But it’s not something I want to do [at the moment].“