Sony Picks Up ‘Simultaneous,’ a Supernatural Thriller from ‘Arrival’ Screenwriter

Arrival and Bird Box screenwriter Eric Heisserer is diving back into the world of the strange and the supernatural. His debut novel, Simultaneous, hit shelves on October 28, 2025, via Flatiron Books — and Sony Pictures has already snapped up the film rights, according to Deadline.

The novel follows a past-life regression therapist and a Homeland Security agent from the Predictive Analytics department who form an uneasy alliance after uncovering a phenomenon linked to reincarnation—and a supernatural killer who’s using his own past lives to murder again.

The upcoming adaptation will be developed under Heisserer’s first-look deal with Sony Pictures, which also includes Dissolution, based on Nicholas Binge’s novel.

Since its release, Simultaneous has drawn strong praise from fellow genre heavyweights. Shadow and Bone author Leigh Bardugo called it “a twisty, mind-bending thriller that will keep you guessing until the final gut punch,” while Cold Storage author and Jurassic Park screenwriter David Koepp described it as “wildly imaginative, emotional, and propulsive—I could not put it down.”

With its reincarnation-fueled mystery and psychological horror elements, Simultaneous sounds like the kind of cerebral nightmare tailor-made for the big screen.

Heisserer, who earned an Oscar nomination for his Arrival screenplay, is no stranger to the genre’s darker corners, having penned Lights Out, Final Destination 5, and The Thing (2011).

Expect a haunting blend of sci-fi, suspense, and the supernatural when Simultaneous makes its way from page to screen.