‘Children of Men’ Director Alfonso Cuarón Is Making a Horror Movie Next

Alfonso Cuarón is heading into horror.

The Oscar-winning filmmaker behind Children of Men and Gravity has revealed that he is currently writing a new screenplay in the horror genre.

Cuarón shared the news while speaking at a press conference during the Busan International Film Festival. According to Dispatch, the filmmaker confirmed that he is working on a new screenplay and described it simply as “a story in the horror genre.”

While Cuarón didn’t reveal any details about the story, the announcement marks an exciting return to darker genre territory for the filmmaker.

Alfonso Cuarón’s Horror Movie

Cuarón has never been limited to a single genre. His early career included films such as A Little Princess, Great Expectations, and Y tu mamá también, before he took over the Harry Potter franchise with Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

That film helped establish the darker visual and thematic direction that would become increasingly prominent in his later work.

Cuarón followed it with the acclaimed dystopian thriller Children of Men, the science fiction thriller Gravity, and other genre projects. However, it has been more than a decade since he made a project specifically associated with horror.

The filmmaker has also worked on horror and dark fantasy projects as a producer, including Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth and the 2020 adaptation of The Witches.

There is one important caveat: Cuarón confirmed that he is writing a horror screenplay, but he has not said that he will direct the movie. No title, cast, plot details, or production timeline have been announced.

From Horror to Hollywood—and Back

Cuarón isn’t the only major filmmaker whose career has moved between genre filmmaking and much larger productions.

Peter Jackson is perhaps one of the most dramatic examples. Before directing The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Jackson made wildly unconventional horror and splatter films including Bad Taste, Meet the Feebles, and Dead Alive.

Jackson eventually went from cult horror to one of the biggest franchises in cinematic history, with The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King winning 11 Academy Awards.

Guillermo del Toro, meanwhile, demonstrates what can happen when a filmmaker manages to bring genre filmmaking into the mainstream without abandoning it. After Cronos, Mimic, The Devil’s Backbone, Blade II, and Hellboy, del Toro went on to win the Academy Award for Best Director and Best Picture for The Shape of Water.

Whether Cuarón’s new project follows the same path remains to be seen, but the filmmaker returning to horror is certainly something genre fans can get excited about.

More details on Alfonso Cuarón’s horror movie are expected as the project develops.