Ethan Hawke is certainly no newcomer to Hollywood, making his silver screen debut in 1985’s Explorers and racking up 88 acting credits in his career, per IMDB. From a coming of age film like Dead Poets Society to a love story trilogy from writer-director Richard Linklater, Hawke has dabbled in a wide range of films throughout his 30 plus year acting career. This includes the horror as well, most notably in 2012 when he teamed up with director Scott Derrickson to film 2012’s Sinister where he played a writer researching the murder of a family of four that took place in his new home. Hawke will be returning to the horror genre once again it appears and will also be reuniting with Derrickson to begin production on The Black Phone this year.
When Hawke and Derrickson first teamed up, the results were impressive with Sinister generating over $80 million in box offices worldwide on a budget of just $3 million. This system of high-profile, low-budget films has worked out incredibly well for Blumhouse, the production company behind Sinister and other notable films such as Get Out, and they are likely hoping to continue their run of success with The Black Phone. The film is an adaptation of a story originally written by American author Joe Hill about a young boy who is kidnapped and trapped in a basement surrounded by the remains of past victims who had been in his place before, with nothing but a disconnected telephone that only receives calls from said victims. Up-and-coming actor Mason Thames is set to play the young boy, with Madeleine McGraw as his sister and Jeremy Davis as his father.
Hawke and Derrickson made waves with 2012’s Sinister, so it is of no surprise to see them reunite and attempt to match this level of success once more. Blumhouse is likely eager to provide them the platform to do so after the 2012’s films success, and the production company likely has all the faith in the world in them to do it again. Hawke also starred in the 2013 horror film The Purge about a night of lawlessness in America that saw mixed reviews from audiences but laid the groundwork for a franchise comprising multiple films that have been wildly successful since the original’s release. While production isn’t set to begin until next month in North Carolina and a theatrical release is likely a ways away, especially with the ongoing pandemic still ravaging the world, horror fans have plenty to be excited about as Blumhouse looks to strike gold once again.
