Paramount is bringing one of horror cinema’s strangest cult classics back to the big screen. Parker Finn’s remake of Andrzej Żuławski’s 1981 Possession has officially secured a theatrical release date, with Callum Turner and Margaret Qualley leading the new version. The film will open worldwide on June 11, 2027, putting Finn’s reinterpretation of the unsettling psychological horror story directly in the middle of next summer’s major theatrical calendar.
The project has attracted attention well before its release because the original Possession has developed an unusually devoted reputation among horror and arthouse cinema fans. Żuławski’s film combined marital breakdown, supernatural terror, disturbing imagery and surreal psychological drama in a way that made it difficult to classify as conventional horror. Now Finn, the filmmaker behind Paramount’s Smile franchise, is taking on the challenge of creating a new version without simply repeating what made the original so distinctive.
Callum Turner and Margaret Qualley Lead the Remake
The new Possession will centre on Callum Turner and Margaret Qualley, who are stepping into roles originally played by Sam Neill and Isabelle Adjani. Their characters are again expected to form the troubled couple at the centre of the story, although details surrounding Finn’s new interpretation have largely been kept under wraps.
The casting gives the remake an interesting combination of performers with very different recent screen profiles. Turner has become increasingly prominent through projects including The Boys in the Boat and Masters of the Air, while Qualley has established herself as one of the more distinctive performers of her generation, particularly after her work in The Substance. The latter is especially relevant because Qualley has already demonstrated an ability to handle material that becomes physically and psychologically unsettling.
The supporting cast adds another layer of curiosity. Diego Calva, Madeline Brewer, Emory Cohen, Nicholas Alexander Chavez and Paul Dano are all attached, with Dano joining the project earlier this year. Character details for several of the new cast members remain undisclosed, suggesting that Paramount and Finn are keeping important elements of the story hidden for now.
Finn is writing and directing the remake himself, which gives him considerable control over how the story is reimagined. He is also producing alongside Jonathan Fass through Bad Feeling, Roy Lee and Andrew Childs through Vertigo, and Robert Pattinson. Marc Bienstock is serving as executive producer.
That creative setup is important because Finn is not approaching Possession as a filmmaker unfamiliar with psychological horror. His Smile movies established his ability to turn disturbing concepts into commercially accessible horror, but Possession is a much more challenging property. The original is famous precisely because it refuses to behave like a conventional genre movie.
Why the Original Possession Is So Difficult to Remake
Żuławski’s 1981 film starred Adjani and Neill as a married couple living in Cold War-era West Berlin whose relationship collapses into something increasingly violent and supernatural. The story begins with the breakdown of a marriage but gradually moves into far stranger territory, creating a film that is simultaneously relationship drama, psychological horror and surreal nightmare.
Adjani’s performance became one of the defining elements of the original. She won the Best Actress prize at the Cannes Film Festival for the role, while the film itself eventually developed a strong cult following among audiences and filmmakers interested in unconventional horror. Its reputation has only grown over the decades, making any remake an especially difficult proposition.
That is why Finn’s involvement has generated as much curiosity as the casting. He has previously spoken about his admiration for the original and described his planned remake in extremely ambitious terms, suggesting that he wants to respect Żuławski’s film while also bringing his own approach to the material.
The biggest question is whether the new movie will try to reproduce the original’s surreal intensity or use its central premise as a foundation for something more contemporary. A direct recreation would inevitably invite comparisons with Adjani and Neill, while a radically different interpretation could upset viewers who regard the 1981 film as untouchable.
Qualley may be particularly well suited to that challenge. Her performance in The Substance showed that she is willing to embrace extreme material and physical transformation, while her recent work has demonstrated a willingness to move between mainstream productions and more unusual projects. Pairing her with Turner gives the remake a central relationship that can potentially carry both the emotional and horror sides of the story.
The involvement of Robert Pattinson as a producer adds another interesting connection. Pattinson has increasingly moved toward unconventional and director-driven projects in recent years, and his involvement behind the scenes suggests that the remake is being positioned as something more ambitious than a routine studio horror reboot.
Possession Has a Tough Release-Date Rival
Paramount has scheduled Possession for June 11, 2027, where it will face Universal Pictures’ How to Train Your Dragon 2. That gives the horror remake a potentially unusual theatrical matchup, placing an adults-oriented psychological horror film against a major family animation title.
The calendar around the release is also becoming crowded with genre and franchise movies. One week earlier, on June 4, Columbia Pictures is scheduled to release JT Mollner’s horror film Skeletons, starring Brie Larson, while June 18 brings Sony’s long-awaited animated sequel Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse. The three-week stretch could therefore become a particularly busy period for audiences looking for very different kinds of theatrical entertainment.
For Possession, the release date may ultimately work in its favour if Paramount positions the film as a distinctive horror event rather than a conventional remake. The original is not a mainstream franchise in the same way as Spider-Man or How to Train Your Dragon, so its marketing will have to communicate what makes Finn’s version worth seeing in cinemas.
There is already some natural curiosity around the project because of the filmmaker involved. Finn turned Smile into a successful horror franchise for Paramount, with the first film becoming a major theatrical hit and Smile 2 continuing that story. Moving from an original horror concept to a cult classic with an established cinematic legacy is a much bigger creative gamble, but it also gives Finn an opportunity to show a different side of his filmmaking.
Production has already been underway, with Qualley recently photographed filming the movie in New Jersey. The images showed her in character during an intense sequence, providing one of the first public glimpses of the production even though Paramount has not released official footage or a full synopsis.
The mystery surrounding the film could therefore remain part of its appeal for some time. Paramount has confirmed the principal cast, Finn’s involvement and the release date, but substantial story details are still being protected. That leaves audiences with the original film as their main point of reference while waiting to discover exactly how different the new version will be.
The stakes are particularly high because Possession is not simply another old horror movie being revived. It is a film that has spent decades building a reputation as one of the more singular works of psychological and arthouse horror. Any new version will inevitably be measured against that legacy.
For Finn, the challenge is therefore not simply to make the remake frightening. It has to establish why this story needs to exist again, what he can bring to it that is uniquely his own and how Qualley and Turner can create a new identity for a couple whose original performances remain deeply associated with the film.
If he succeeds, Possession could become one of the more interesting horror releases of 2027. If the film plays too safely, however, the comparison with Żuławski’s original could become impossible to escape.
For now, the only certainty is the date: June 11, 2027. Paramount is betting that Parker Finn, a strong new cast and one of horror cinema’s most notorious stories can make Possession feel dangerous all over again.
Possession Remake Q&A
When will Parker Finn’s Possession remake be released?
Paramount has scheduled the new Possession for a theatrical release on June 11, 2027.
Who stars in the new Possession?
Callum Turner and Margaret Qualley lead the film, with Diego Calva, Madeline Brewer, Emory Cohen, Nicholas Alexander Chavez and Paul Dano also part of the cast.
Who directed the original Possession?
The 1981 Possession was written and directed by Andrzej Żuławski. It starred Isabelle Adjani and Sam Neill as a married couple in Cold War-era West Berlin.
Who directed the Possession remake?
Parker Finn, the filmmaker behind Smile and Smile 2, is writing and directing the remake. He is also producing the project.
What is the original Possession about?
The 1981 film follows a married couple whose relationship deteriorates amid infidelity, psychological turmoil and increasingly disturbing supernatural events. It became a cult classic of arthouse horror, with Isabelle Adjani winning Best Actress at Cannes.
Who is producing the new Possession?
Finn is producing alongside Jonathan Fass, Roy Lee, Andrew Childs and Robert Pattinson. Marc Bienstock is serving as executive producer.
