A Head Full of Ghosts adaptation moves forward; David Harbor, Rebecca Hall, Esmé Creed-Miles in final talks to star

David Harbour as Jim Hopper in Stranger Things - Courtesy of Netflix

For years, the adaptation of Paul Tremblay's 2015 possession novel A Head Full of Ghosts remained in limbo. The project simply never got off the ground, despite the book's critical acclaim. Well, there's finally some good news. The movie version is actually happening.

According to Deadline, Lionsgate has acquired the worldwide distribution rights to the film adaptation. David Harbour (Stranger Things), Rebecca Hall (The Beauty), and Esmé Creed-Miles (The Sandman) are in final negotiations to lead the cast. Meanwhile, horror fans should be happy to know that Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala, the duo behind The Lodge and Goodnight Mommy, are set to write and direct. Considering their stellar genre track record and the novel's subject matter, this is a great choice.

A Head Full of Ghosts tells the harrowing story of the Barrett family. Their lives in suburban New England unravel when 14-year-old Marjorie shows signs of schizophrenia. This leads her financially strapped and desperate parents to partake in a reality TV show documenting supposed demonic possession. The book is narrated by the older sister Merry, and the novel tackles mental health, possession motifs and tropes, media sensationalism, and even financial hardship, after John Barrett loses his job and falls prey to religious fanaticism.

Merry's narration is split between what happened to her family and blog posts that comment both on possession movies and her family's terrible ordeal. It's unclear how the writers/directors will adapt the dual narration and Merry's frequent interludes, as it will be hard to apply Merry's commentary to a film version, but I'm eager to see how they pull that off. Additionally, Tremblay's book is ambiguous, especially its ending. It's never clear if Marjorie is possessed, or if it's mental illness. Hopefully, the film version maintains the book's mystery and ambiguity.

Judging from the casting so far, it seems likely that Harbour will play John Barrett, Rebecca Hall will star as the mom, Sarah Barrett, while Creed-Miles will play Merry or Marjorie. So far, this is an impressive cast, and I'm eager to see who lands the remaining roles. According to Variety, Tremblay's Bram Stoker Award-winning novel was initially set up in 2020 with Cross Creek. Team Downey (Robert Downey Jr. and Susan Downey), The Allegiance Theater (Daniel Dubiecki and Lara Alameddine), and Fifth Season were set to produce, with STX set to distribute the film in the U.S. and U.K. Back then, the director was Scott Cooper, and Margaret Qualley was attached to star. The production team remains the same.

Thankfully, the project is on stronger footing now with a great choice in casting and directors. We'll keep readers updated on the adaptation's progress as more news is released.

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