It sort of makes sense that Finn Wolfhard would be working on a horror movie of his own. The 19-year-old has spent the majority of his teenage years working on Stranger Things and Stephen King’s It series, and is about to start work on his own future classic. The Hollywood Reporter has revealed he’ll co-direct a movie called Hell of a Summer later this year.
Working alongside close friend Billy Bryk, who starred alongside Finn in Ghostbusters: Afterlife and When You Finish Saving the World, the pair have directed, written and will star in the movie together. The only other cast member who has been announced is Fred Hechinger, who you might have seen in The White Lotus and Netflix’s horror movie trilogy, Fear Street.
“I am so excited to be co-directing my first feature film,” Finn said in a statement. “I get the chance to work with an incredible cast and crew, and to work with a company like 30West and Aggregate is a real dream.” Jason Bateman, the comedy actor known for his turns in Horrible Bosses and Arrested Development, has come on board as one of the movie’s executive producers as well, meaning some of Hollywood’s most respected figures are throwing their weight behind it too.
As for plot details? Beyond the movie being billed a horror comedy, akin to films like Bodies Bodies Bodies and What We Do in the Shadows, all is being kept under wraps for now. For those trying to gauge the tone of Finn’s filmmaking style, you’re in luck: he made his short movie directorial debut with Night Shifts in 2020; you can watch it on YouTube below.
The film will start shooting later this month in Ontario, Canada, and we imagine it’ll need to be a quick shoot, since Finn has a big few months ahead. That aforementioned A24 feature, When You Finish Saving The World, premiered to strong reviews at Sundance Film Festival and Cannes Film Festival, and will hit cinemas later this year. Then he’s got a double hit of animated features: a dark version of Pinocchio directed by Oscar-winner Guillermo del Toro and a Willem Dafoe-starring fantasy film titled The Legend of Ochi.