Lena Waithe and Steven Caple Jr. are joining forces on Grand Rising, a psychological horror-thriller that has landed at Searchlight Pictures in a competitive package sale — one of the first major film deals of the year.
Based on a short story by A.C. Robinson, Grand Rising will be adapted for the screen by Waithe, with Caple Jr. set to direct. Plot details are being kept tightly under wraps, though the project is described as a psychological horror-thriller.
Waithe will produce through her Hillman Grad banner, alongside Caple Jr. via Grey Skies Pictures and Scott Glassgold for 12:01 Films. Jeannette Francis will executive produce for Grey Skies Pictures. Overseeing the project for Searchlight are SVP of Production Rayne Roberts and Creative Executive Cameron Chidsey, reporting to Heads of Production and Development DanTram Nguyen and Katie Goodson-Thomas.
The acquisition marks a notable win for Searchlight and underscores continued appetite for elevated genre storytelling — particularly packages driven by top-tier creative talent.
Caple Jr.’s Grey Skies Pictures, launched just last year, is already building an ambitious slate. The company is currently producing Netflix’s upcoming Man on Fire series starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, developing I Am Legend 2 for Warner Bros. with Will Smith and Michael B. Jordan attached, and has additional projects in the works with Lionsgate and Paramount, where Grey Skies holds a first-look deal. Caple Jr. most recently directed the pilot block of Man on Fire and executive produces the series. His feature credits include Transformers: Rise of the Beasts and Creed II, following his Sundance breakout debut The Land.
Waithe continues to expand her footprint across film, television, and theater. The Emmy-winning writer-producer-actor is known for Master of None, The Chi, and Queen & Slim, with recent producing credits including Being Mary Tyler Moore, A Thousand and One, Kokomo City, and the Tony-nominated play Ain’t No Mo’. In November 2024, she launched Legacy Talk, a podcast centered on Black storytellers in entertainment. She is also preparing for her playwriting and theatrical acting debut with Trinity at Baltimore Center Stage this February.
Robinson, who first gained attention with her debut novel Hardly Strangers, has expanded Grand Rising into a novel set to be published by Simon & Schuster / Atria through 12:01 Books, a joint venture between Glassgold and Emily Bestler.
The sale continues a strong run for Glassgold and 12:01 Films, which has spent the past year setting up high-profile projects across major studios and streamers, further cementing the company as a key player in the current spec and package marketplace.
With Waithe adapting, Caple Jr. directing, and Searchlight backing the project, Grand Rising is already shaping up as one of the most closely watched genre packages to emerge this year.