Osgood Perkins, Nicolas Cage Team With Paramount for New ‘Longlegs’ Movie

Osgood Perkins is making a new movie called Longlegs, which is a follow-up to his previous mystery horror thriller. That earlier movie, Longlegs, became the highest-grossing independent film in the past ten years.

This time, the movie isn’t being handled by Neon, the original distributor, but instead by Paramount Pictures, which is owned by Skydance.

 Paramount has bought the rights to the new Longlegs movie. Perkins is writing, directing, and producing this new project. Nicolas Cage is returning as the star and also as a producer.

Other producers on the project include Brian Kavanaugh Jones from Range Media, Chris Ferguson, who works with Perkins at their production company Phobos, and Dave Caplan from C2, who helped fund the first Longlegs movie.

Even though details about the new movie are still under wraps, sources say it isn’t a sequel but is set in the same world as the original Longlegs.

The original Longlegs movie, released by Neon in 2024, was a big surprise.

 It made a lot of money and helped make Perkins a known name in horror filmmaking. Maika Monroe, who played the lead role, also gained recognition. She was an FBI agent with special abilities who investigated murder-suicides linked to a serial killer known as Longlegs. Cage played Longlegs in a very unusual and intense performance.

The movie earned over $128 million worldwide, which is impressive considering its low budget of under $10 million.

 It combined elements like the occult, mind control, Satanic worship, creepy dolls, and a crime procedural, making it a rich story with lots of potential for more stories.

Sources say that Neon stepped away when the new project’s size and budget went beyond what they usually handle.

Paramount has been focusing heavily on horror movies under its new leadership.

 They have two production companies that specialize in horror: one run by J.D. Lifshitz and Raphael Margules, who made Barbarian, and another run by Walter Hamada, who is behind the upcoming movie Passenger, set for a May 22 release. They also have a first-look deal with Parker Finn, the director of the Smile movies. Additionally, they are reviving the Paranormal Activity franchise, with James Wan and Jason Blum producing, thanks to the success of Scream 7, which made over $211 million.

Perkins has directed other horror films like The Monkey and Keeper, and he has finished production on The Young People, a new scary movie that stars Nicole Kidman, Lola Tung, and Nico Parker.

Nicolas Cage’s next movie is Spider-Noir, an Amazon Prime Video series that starts in May.

 Later this year, he will play football legend John Madden in David O. Russell’s movie Madden.

Perkins is represented by CAA, Untitled, and Lichter Grossman, while Cage is represented by WME, Stride Management, and Goodman Genow.