LaKeith Stanfield will not be going under New York after all. He has left Molepeople, and Ben Wheatley has taken over as director from Rob Savage on the Blumhouse and Paramount horror film, which Paramount still has dated for August 27, 2027.
Variety reported the changes. Savage stepped away over scheduling conflicts and stays with the film as an executive producer, and no reason has been reported for Stanfield leaving.
The Lead Role Has Now Changed Hands Twice
Stanfield came to the part after Anthony Ramos had been attached to it, so the lead has changed hands twice since the project went public. Blumhouse presented the film at its BlumFest panel at New York Comic Con on October 9, where Savage brought Stanfield out on stage.
Wheatley Has Been Working in Horror Since 2011
Wheatley directed Kill List in 2011 and followed it with A Field in England, High-Rise, the Daphne du Maurier adaptation Rebecca for Netflix, the folk horror In the Earth in 2021 and Meg 2: The Trench in 2023. He also wrote, directed and executive produced all six episodes of the 2024 zombie series Generation Z.
The Shoot Is Weeks Away
Filming is set to begin in the United Kingdom at the end of November or in early December. Jason Blum produces with J.D. Lifshitz, Raphael Margules and James Harris, Blumhouse Atomic Monster and Paramount Primal are co-financing, and Paramount handles distribution worldwide.
Nathan Elston wrote the script, which sends a man down into the abandoned tunnels under New York City to find a twisted society living beneath the streets.