Screen Gems, one of the most prolific producers of horror in the business, has carved out early plans for a Slender Man movie based on the haunting Internet meme.
At least, that’s according to a report by ComicBook.com, claiming that David Birke (Elle, 13 Sins) has been tapped to write the script ahead of the nerve-shredding project entering production in the fall. Such an accelerated development timeline would align Slender Man with a release at some point in 2017, though no further details were disclosed at this stage.
Birthed in 2009 via an online PhotoShop contest, one designed to warp original photographs so that they appeared supernatural, the wiry, nightmarish figure was first created by Eric Knudsen (AKA “Victor Surge”). Then, the blood-curdling image came bearing the following caption: “We didn’t want to go, we didn’t want to kill them, but its persistent silence and outstretched arms horrified and comforted us at the same time . . . 1983, photographer unknown, presumed dead.”
Since then, Slender Man has gone on to become something of a cult horror icon, spawning short films, pop culture references – including an appearance in Microsoft’s Minecraft – and even two creepy video games of his own in Slender: The Eight Pages and Slender: The Arrival.
Drawing from that rich lore, it’s easy to imagine a scenario where Screen Gems crafts a low-budget horror flick in the vein of, say, a Blumhouse production, as the source material certainly fits the studio’s M.O.. But at least for now, it’s best to treat this Slender Man rumor as just that.