Kumail Nanjiani plans to make his feature directorial debut with a horror movie called Howl
Two years ago, it was announced that Mandy Moore (This Is Us) and Kumail Nanjiani (Eternals) were set to star in a horror film called Threads: An Insidious Tale – which, as the title implies, wouldn’t be a continuation of the Insidious series, but rather an offshoot taking place in the same universe. Unfortunately, that project still hasn’t made it into production – but Nanjiani isn’t letting that keep him away from the horror genre. In fact, during a recent interview on the Comedy Means Business podcast, he revealed that he’s planning to make his feature directorial debut with a horror movie called Howl!
On the podcast, Nanjiani said (with thanks to our friends at Bloody Disgusting for the transcription), “[Directing] was like this vague thing I wanted to do, but it wasn’t until I read this script that came to me to act in that I was like, ‘Okay, I don’t know if I know how to direct, but I think I know how to direct this movie. That’s kind of how it happened. I just read the right the thing. The first thing I want to do is a genre thing. Emily [V. Gordon, wife] and I are huge genre fans. We watch every sci-fi movie. We watch every horror movie. It wasn’t like I was specifically looking to direct a horror movie or anything; it was just this movie. I get this movie. It’s got a very specific tone, and I was like, ‘I see this tone in my head. I know exactly how this should be.’“
Nanjiani has had a few brushes with horror over the course of his career, although many of the genre projects he has been involved with have had a heavy comedic element – which makes sense, since he’s also a comedian. He appeared in the horror comedy Hell Baby, did voice work on a Walking Dead video game, the animated series Haunted Hotel, and the animated movie Hell and Back; made an uncredited appearance in the Goosebumps movie, appeared in the horror comedy Destroy All Neighbors, was in episodes of The X-Files and The Twilight Zone, and had a supporting role in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. He recently worked on a pilot for Very Young Frankenstein, a potential TV series continuation of the Mel Brooks classic Young Frankenstein.
The fact that other comedians have had great success making horror movies in recent years has Nanjiani feeling more confident about his decision to direct a horror film. “Obviously there’s a been a lot of comedians pivoting into making horror movies recently, and it’s been successful. Obviously Jordan Peele, Josh Ruben, Zach Cregger, all these people come from comedy and have made great horror. So I think that their track record has helped me a little bit in making this pivot.“
Howl plot details are being kept under wraps for now. In addition to directing the film, Nanjiani is expected to produce alongside Emily V. Gordon and Dani Melia, through their company Winter Coat Films. Filming is expected to take place next year.
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