Craig Zobel, a director known for his work on such prestige series as Mare of Easttown and The Penguin, is set to direct a feature adaptation of Something Is Killing the Children, the popular comic book series from James Tynion IV and Werther Dell’Edera, with Jason Blum and his Blumhouse among the producers.
Stephen Christy and Tynion IV will produce the film for BOOM! Studios/Penguin Random House, alongside Blum for Blumhouse. Shaun Sutton and Ryan Turek will exec produce alongside Adam Yoelin and Mette Norkjaer, with Dell’Edera acting as co-producer.
The news came out of New York Comic-Con, where Blumhouse laid out its 2027 slate.
First published by BOOM! Studios, an imprint of Penguin Random House, in 2019, Something is Killing the Children centers on Erica Slaughter, a monster hunter who arrives in the small town of Archer’s Peak after children begin disappearing to take down the creature preying on them. It’s the most successful original horror comic book since The Walking Dead, with more than 5 million copies sold worldwide, having been translated into more than 20 languages in 14 countries.
While developing the live-action feature, Blumhouse is simultaneously developing an adult animated series version of Something Is Killing the Children to be shepherded by Tynion IV.
A DGA Award nominee and three-time Emmy nominee, Zobel broke out with indies like Compliance and Z for Zachariah before going on to work on shows such as The Leftovers, American Gods, Westworld, Mare of Easttown and The Penguin. He also helmed the satirical horror film The Hunt and just wrapped production on Turpentine, a new thriller starring Melissa McCarthy and Connie Storrie. He is repped by CAA, SSM&L, Entertainment 360 and Jackoway Austen Tyerman.
Blumhouse–Atomic Monster is in theaters this weekend with Rob Savage’s Universal horror Other Mommy, based on the novel Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman. Their slate for next year includes the Joshua Giuliano buzz title River, Mike Flanagan’s The Exorcist: Martyrs, Anything but Ghosts from Obsession‘s Curry Barker, a new Paranormal Activity, the Savage-helmed Mole People, a new Blair Witch Project from Dylan Clark, Sleepover from director Jacob Chase, and Drew Hancock’s Seasons.
