2007’s Paranormal Activity was a tiny movie that had a huge impact on the entertainment industry. Not only did it become one of the most profitable films in history after making almost $200 million on a minuscule $350,000 budget, but it also helped popularize the found footage genre and was a major early success for Jason Blum’s Blumhouse Productions, who have shaped the world of modern horror cinema.
Despite those vast profits, though, the franchise has been dormant since 2015’s Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension. Until now, that is. Earlier this week, Blumhouse and Paramount announced that a seventh instalment is preparing for full production and will release on Paramount+ in 2022. This will be directed by Underwater‘s Will Eubank and written by Christopher Landon, with Jason Blum and creator Oren Peli producing.
But that’s not the only bit of good news for fans. According to sources close to WGTC – the same ones who told us a fifth Scream movie was happening and The Exorcist franchise was getting a new outing – a TV show based on the property is in development for Paramount+ as well.
Right now, we don’t know what it’ll be about, though it’s said to be set in the same universe as the films and personally, I’d love something that explored the original hauntings. Given that the first Paranormal Activity came out in 2007, it’d be fun to see a fake documentary show that set out to analyze what “really” happened during those events, hopefully stirring up some old ghosts along the way.
That’s all speculation for now, but a series set in this universe would certainly bolster the streaming network’s horror credentials, which were hinted at by prominently featuring Sadako from The Ring in their glitzy, all-star Super Bowl ad.
In any case, as production on the next movie takes shape and we learn what kind of ground that’ll be covering, let’s hope we get some firm details of how things are going to go down in the Paranormal Activity franchise’s trip to the small screen.