The directors behind the best horror of 2023 announce their secretive next movie with Shape of Water star

talk to me
(Image credit: Altitude Films)

Talk to Me directors Danny and Michael Philippou have set their next movie at A24. Called Bring Her Back, the upcoming horror film will feature Shape of Water star Sally Hawkins and is due to begin production in the summer.

The news was confirmed by Deadline, who also announced that the producers behind The Babadook are involved in the follow-up to the wildly successful Talk to Me. At the moment, plot details are under wraps on the next film, but the Philippou brothers did give 12DOVE some insight on it back in 2023 while speaking about the Talk to Me sequel.

"Yeah, Bring Her Back. It's like the closest [to being made], and I feel so connected to it," Michael shared. "I'm so excited to do it. I definitely would love for that to be next. I'd love to shoot that ASAP. But it all relies on casting and contracting and all that sort of stuff. But we're hungry. We're just like, 'I'm ready to go straight away.'"

Posting on Instagram back in 2021, they shared an image of the title page too, confirming that they’d finished writing it. The new project marks their first major follow-up to Talk To Me, which became A24’s highest-grossing horror movie and is widely regarded as one of the best horror movies of recent years.

Bring Her Back marks Hawkins's first major horror role too, with her closest brush with the genre being 2017’s Oscar-winning The Shape of Water. Directed by Guillermo del Toro, the dark fantasy is Hawkins’ most recognizable role, but she’s also starred in Happy-Go-Lucky, Paddington, and Godzilla.

For more scares, check out the other upcoming horror movies on the way and our guide to the best horror movies of all time.

Fay Watson
Deputy Entertainment Editor

I’m the Deputy Entertainment Editor here at 12DOVE, covering TV and film for the Total Film and SFX sections online. I previously worked as a Senior Showbiz Reporter and SEO TV reporter at Express Online for three years. I've also written for The Resident magazines and Amateur Photographer, before specializing in entertainment.

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