Ethan Hawke will star in The Black Phone, a horror thriller Scott Derrickson is directing for Blumhouse and Universal.
Derrickson and frequent collaborator Robert Cargill wrote the script adapting the Joe Hill short story that first appeared in the author’s short story collection, 20th Century Ghosts.
The story concerns a kidnapped kid who finds himself in a soundproof basement surrounded by the remains of other victims. When night falls, the antique — and disconnected — telephone in the room begins to ring with the calls from the dead.
Hawke will play the kidnapper.
Jeremy Davis is already on the call sheet, playing the boy’s father. Mason Thames is playing the boy while while Madeleine McGraw is his sister.
Derrickson, Cargill and Blumhouse’s Jason Blum are producing the picture. Joe Hill is an executive producer.
Hawke’s boarding reunites the actor with the filmmakers and producer of the 2012 horror smash, Sinister. Hawke also starred in The Purge, another hit horror movie produced by Blum.
Production on Black Phone is due to start in North Carolina in February.
Hawke is fitting the movie in before he segues into a splashy role in Marvel’s Moon Knight series. The actor is coming off acclaim for co-writing, starring and exec producing The Good Lord Bird, a Showtime limited series centered on abolitionist John Brown. The series was recently recognized by the American Film Institute (AFI) as one of the Best Television Programs of the Year.
Hawke is repped by CAA, MGMT Entertainment.
