2027 locked for Parker Finn’s Possession remake starring Margaret Qualley and Callum Turner

Here we go, then: Parker Finn’s long-rumoured remake of the cult horror film Possession finally has a release date, so start preparing your nerves. This new take on Andrzej Żuławski’s bonkers 1981 psychological nightmare is arriving in cinemas on 11 June 2027, meaning we’ll see it on the big screen next summer. If you’re surprised by how soon that is — or just wary of anyone remaking this particular fever dream — you’re certainly not alone.

Possession will hit UK cinemas on 11 June 2027, the same weekend as Universal’s live-action How to Train Your Dragon 2.

Fresh faces and a loaded cast

Margaret Qualley and Callum Turner are the top-billed couple at the centre of Possession, caught in a relationship that — if the remake sticks to Żuławski’s original — dissolves into a blend of psychological horror, murder, and full-on monstrous weirdness. Joining them in as-yet-mysterious roles: Diego Calva, Madeline Brewer, Emory Cohen, Nicholas Alexander Chavez, and Paul Dano. The production’s been shrouded in the usual secrecy, but on-set paparazzi have already caught Qualley filming what looks suspiciously like one of the story’s iconic rain-drenched breakdowns, so at least we know we’re in for a messy ride.

• Director/writer: Parker Finn (Smile, Smile 2)
• Main cast: Margaret Qualley, Callum Turner (married couple), with Diego Calva, Madeline Brewer, Emory Cohen, Paul Dano, Nicholas Alexander Chavez
• Producers: Parker Finn & Jonathan Fass (Bad Feeling), Roy Lee & Andrew Childs (Vertigo Entertainment), Robert Pattinson

Who’s actually making this?

Behind the camera, it’s all being steered by Finn, hot off back-to-back horror hits with Smile and its sequel. He’s writing and directing, and also producing alongside Jonathan Fass, the Vertigo Entertainment duo (Roy Lee and Andrew Childs), and — for a bit of unlikely prestige horror seasoning — Robert Pattinson. Marc Bienstock serves as executive producer, for those keeping a list.

Let’s talk remaking the unremakable

Remaking Possession is probably one of the boldest choices in horror right now. Żuławski’s original is legendary, not just for its supernatural chaos and body horror, but for pushing the mental breakdown of a marriage more or less past the edge of sanity. Anna’s infamous fits of screaming and writhing in a Berlin subway? Hard to imagine those getting updated in any way that won’t divide fans.

It’s personal stuff, too. The first film drew from Żuławski’s divorce and his own sense of exile — giving it a tone and intensity that aren’t easy to fake. This personal history is precisely why a lot of horror obsessives were immediately up in arms when Finn’s remake was first whispered about.

But here’s where it gets interesting: Isabelle Adjani, who originally played Anna and won Best Actress at Cannes for it, has explicitly given Qualley her thumbs up to take on the role, and previously went out of her way to praise her as a serious acting talent. She’s said she gets why a new generation would be eager (or mad enough) to tackle this particular beast.

Not everyone is convinced a remake will work. Some horror critics (including JoBlo’s Chris Bumbray) argue that the original’s Cold War West Berlin setting, emotional extremity, and over-the-top finale are next to impossible to replicate — and the delays in getting this thing off the ground probably haven’t helped allay those concerns. But that’s the gamble Paramount is making, and either way, it’s shaping up to be a very noisy opening weekend, since it’s going up against Universal’s live-action How to Train Your Dragon 2.