Sony Screen Gems has won a competitive bidding war over Amazon and Searchlight for Mime, a supernatural horror project starring John David Washington and directed by Nikyatu Jusu. The studio’s acquisition comes under its first-look deal with producer Scott Derrickson.
Plot details are being kept tightly under wraps, but the film is set in a New York City apartment complex in the middle of a heat wave blackout. Stephen Herman wrote the screenplay based on his original idea.
Jusu is best known for her feature directorial debut Nanny, the psychological horror starring Anna Diop as a Senegalese immigrant nanny whose life in America is derailed by visions. The film won the Sundance Grand Jury Prize in 2022, making it the first horror film to take the festival’s top honor, before being acquired by Blumhouse and Amazon for $7 million.
Washington, known for BlacKkKlansman, Tenet and The Creator, most recently appeared in the 2024 drama The Piano Lesson. He will also produce alongside Derrickson through his Crooked Highway banner, Matt Tolmach and Camila Grove.
The film is currently in active development with plans to shoot in the spring.