Paramount’s Molepeople has lost two key creatives: star LaKeith Stanfield has left the project, along with Other Mommy director Rob Savage. Now, Meg 2: The Trench-famed Ben Wheatley has been tapped to helm the project instead.
Rob Savage left the project due to scheduling conflicts, while it is not known why Stanfield exited. Deadline reported that the departures were amicable. Savage’s most recent work includes Other Mommy, which failed to impress critics. However, the movie is performing very well at the box office, having made $95 million against its $19 million budget.
Savage will still be an executive producer on the project.
Ben Wheatley steps in as Rob Savage exits Molepeople
Ben Wheatley will now direct Molepeople. His notable works include Kill List, Sightseers, A Field in England, High-Rise, and Free Fire. A celebrated genre filmmaker focused on horror, action, and thrillers, Wheatley’s experience is perfect for a high-concept feature like Molepeople.
The project is backed by Paramount, co-producing the movie with Blumhouse Atomic Monster and Paramount Primal. The movie is set to follow a man who descends into the sewers of New York City, only to find that it is populated by people who have formed their own twisted society. Nathan Elston, who also wrote the script for Other Mommy, serves as the writer for the movie. He will be an executive producer on the project as well.
Producers Raphael Margules and J.D. Lifshitz brought the project into Paramount’s fold. It will be produced under Paramount Primal, the genre-focused studio under Skydance that Margules and Lifshitz lead. Jason Blum is set to produce alongside Lifshitz, Margules, and James Harris, while Ryan Turek and Tracy Rosenblum serve as executive producers.
The movie is slated to hit theaters on August 27, 2027. Speculation has suggested that Paramount might look to push the release of the movie to a later date in light of the shake-ups with the movie’s creative team. The movie will star Ben Mendelsohn.
