'Paranormal Activity' Paramount Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection Share on Facebook Share on X Google Preferred Share to Flipboard Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Send an Email Print the Article Post a Comment Logo text Paramount Pictures' new Paranormal Activity project is moving at a spirited clip. Less than two weeks after it was revealed that the studio had partnered with Blumhouse-Atomic Monster on the horror reboot, The Hollywood Reporter has learned the project has now landed a director: rising Canadian filmmaker Ian Tuason. The new Paranormal is a rebirth of the found-footage horror franchise first released in 2007. The seven movies have been huge moneymakers, thanks to having low-budgets; the original movie was famously made for only $15,000 (and then given a new sheen and a new ending by DreamWorks Pictures, then part of Paramount, for $200,000) and cited as one of the most profitable movies ever made. It also helped launch Blumhouse into the horror powerhouse it is today. Related Stories Movies New 'Paranormal Activity' Movie in the Works With James Wan Joining Franchise as Producer (Exclusive) Movies Netflix Teams with Roy Lee, Zach Cregger to Tackle Brian Michael Bendis Graphic Novel 'Torso' (Exclusive) Paramount is on board as a partner to co-finance, co-produce and distribute the new chapter. Oren Peli, the filmmaker behind the 2007 film that grossed $194.2 million on a shoe-string budget, will also produce via his Solana Films. For the first time, James Wan will be involved with the movie series, coming in as a producer. Steven Schneider will executive produce for Room 101, Inc., with Michael Clear and Judson Scott executive producing for Blumhouse-Atomic Monster, with executive Alayna Glasthal overseeing for the company. Tuason seems to be the kind of director for whom the franchise is tailor-made. The Toronto-based writer-director made live-action virtual reality horror shorts, which racked up millions of views on YouTube and even a showcase at SXSW. He then made a splashy debut this summer when his feature The Undertones premiered at the 29th Fantasia International Film Festival, where it won the audience award for Canadian movie. Tuason found himself in the middle of a bidding war for his movie, with A24 coming out on top with a mid-seven figure deal. Undertones' subject is...paranormal activity. The story, inspired by some of Tuason's own experiences, centers on a paranormal podcast co-host who must care for her ailing mother. When she mysteriously receives audio files regarding a couple's possession, she falls into a rabbit hole of paranoia. Sound design is integral to the movie, and Tuason has described it as "found audio, not found footage." Landing the gig is likely a dream come true for the filmmaker, as he has listed the original Paranormal as being number three on his list of movies that most creep him out. (The Exorcist and The Blair Witch Project are numbers one and two, respectively.) Tuason is repped by WME, 3 Arts Entertainment and Ziffren Brittenham. THR Newsletters Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day Subscribe Sign Up trailers Guile's Hair Is the Star of the 'Street Fighter' Movie Teaser Trailer, and That's Not a Good Thing Walter Salles Arthur Cohn, Three-Time Oscar-Winning Producer, Dies at 98 Noah Baumbach 'Awards Chatter' Pod: Noah Baumbach on 'Jay Kelly,' Awkwardness of Semi-Autobiographical Films, and Falling in Love With Greta Gerwig On Screen and Off Oscar Isaac How Guillermo del Toro Achieved His Lifelong Dream of Adapting 'Frankenstein' Zootopia 2 Box Office Annihilation: 'Zootopia 2' Zooms Past the $1 Billion Mark Globally in Only 17 Days THR Original Video "Once You See That Stuff Projected, You Don't Really Turn Back": THR's Cinematographers Roundtable trailers Guile's Hair Is the Star of the 'Street Fighter' Movie Teaser Trailer, and That's Not a Good Thing Walter Salles Arthur Cohn, Three-Time Oscar-Winning Producer, Dies at 98 Noah Baumbach 'Awards Chatter' Pod: Noah Baumbach on 'Jay Kelly,' Awkwardness of Semi-Autobiographical Films, and Falling in Love With Greta Gerwig On Screen and Off Oscar Isaac How Guillermo del Toro Achieved His Lifelong Dream of Adapting 'Frankenstein' Zootopia 2 Box Office Annihilation: 'Zootopia 2' Zooms Past the $1 Billion Mark Globally in Only 17 Days THR Original Video "Once You See That Stuff Projected, You Don't Really Turn Back": THR's Cinematographers Roundtable