Paramount Positions ‘Possession’ Remake with Callum Turner and Margaret Qualley as Summer Blockbuster

Andrzej Żuławski’s “Possession” was never a commercial hit, but rather later a cult one, so it was already a surprise that a major studio like Paramount was planning to remake it. But now it’s being positioned not as a Halloween horror entry or fall festival title, but rather a potential summer blockbuster.

Paramount has dated “Possession,” the remake of the 1981 film that will star Callum Turner and Margaret Qualley and is being directed by Parker Finn, for release on June 11, 2027, the studio announced Tuesday. The film will open opposite the live-action “How to Train Your Dragon 2,” so it’s as counter-programming as you can get.

Finn broke out for Paramount with “Smile” and its sequel, which themselves were both sleeper theatrical hits after the original “Smile” was originally positioned as a streaming film. And, of course, we know Paramount has made a commitment to theatrical releases with a 45-day window. But this is a big sign of confidence in the horror thriller with big rising stars in Turner and Qualley.

“Possession” also stars Diego Calva, Madeline Brewer, Emory Cohen, Nicholas Alexander Chavez, and Paul Dano. Robert Pattinson is also, curiously, a producer on the remake alongside Finn for his Bad Feeling banner, as well as Jonathan Fass for Bad Feeling and Roy Lee and Andrew Childs for Vertigo.

The original “Possession” starred the late Sam Neill alongside Cannes Best Actress winner Isabelle Adjani, and its cult status has only grown in recent years, thanks to TikTok. The film is about a dissatisfied housewife who breaks up her marriage with a spy from West Berlin, only for a private investigator to uncover some dark forces, including some tentacles and other body horror strangeness, at play. The original film also has some impeccable creature design from Oscar winner Carlo Rambaldi, who worked on “Alien” and “E.T.”

Clearly, this was seen as a hot package back when it was introduced as far back as 2024. Paramount won out among multiple studios and distributors that engaged in a bidding war over the project, so we imagine there’s real commercial potential there based on Finn’s treatment.

We’ll have to see how much of the stuff involving harrowing subway miscarriages, tentacle sex, and more makes it to the screen in this studio version, just in time for summer.