dpEXCLUSIVE: A24 is teaming with Spooky Pictures and Image Nation Studios to bring the SCP Foundation, one of the internet’s largest fan-built horror and science-fiction universes, to the big screen for the first time.
Taking worldwide rights to the project, an untitled extension of the V/H/S horror series, A24 is targeting a 2027 theatrical release.
Plot details are being kept under wraps. A24 will co-produce with Roy Lee and Steven Schneider for Spooky Pictures, alongside Josh Goldbloom, who has worked on past V/H/S entries including V/H/S/94, V/H/S/99 and V/H/S/Halloween, and Michael Schreiber, who also worked across multiple installments.
Image Nation Studios’ CEO Ben Ross and Spooky Pictures’ Rami Yasin and Jakob Pollack will exec produce alongside Brad Miska.
Originating online in 2008, the SCP Foundation has since evolved into a sprawling, collaborative mythology created and expanded by thousands of contributors around the world. Encompassing a library of anomalous objects, entities, phenomena and stories, this universe has a lore all its own, involving a secret organization covertly operating to protect humanity from malevolent entities.
A24 comes to the feature take following its success with Backrooms, the horror film from Kane Parsons, which grossed over $394M worldwide. Like that universe, the SCP Foundation emerged from a creepypasta, or short, user-generated horror story/urban legend, posted to the 4chan internet forum. Prior to this new film, fandom around SCP Foundation spurred the creation of assorted games, short films, and web series.
Speaking to the impetus for the SCP Foundation movie, Image Nation Studios’ Ross and Spooky Pictures co-founders Lee and Schneider said: “Internet lore is quickly rising as a compelling source of new stories for the horror genre, bringing with it built-in, highly devoted audiences. As fans increasingly seek out fresh scares, we’re focused on tapping into the most compelling online worlds in which talent already live, such as the vast SCP universe, and helping them make the leap to the big screen. With A24’s expertise in nurturing and elevating internet-born phenomena like Backrooms into major theatrical success, they’re the ideal partner for V/H/S: SCP and we can’t wait to expand the franchise with new, spine chilling stories together.”
Image Nation Studios and Spooky Pictures announced their acquisition of rights to the V/H/S found-footage horror anthology franchise earlier this year. V/H/S: SCP marks the next installment in the series, following V/H/S/Mixtape, a music-themed anthology premiering on Shudder this October.
Alongside Blumhouse Atomic Monster and Divide/Conquer, Spooky Pictures is also one of the companies behind Josh Giuliano’s new horror film Occupant for Focus Features that we just announced.
