Eternals star Kumail Nanjiani to direct first film — a horror
Kumail Nanjiani is stepping behind the camera for the first time on a feature — and he’s picked a horror-comedy for the job.
Right, so Kumail Nanjiani is lining up for his first go behind the camera, and it's not for another straight comedy or prestige mini-series. No, Nanjiani's making his directorial debut with a horror-comedy called Howl. Definitely didn't have that on the 2026 bingo card.
Nanjiani will direct a film called Howl, which follows a troubled actor who goes on live television and announces he'll transform into a werewolf in an hour. Amazon MGM’s Orion Studios has bagged the rights.
Plot and Production
The film is still in the early stages, so don't expect casting news tomorrow. What's actually happening: Nanjiani is adapting a script by Madison Vanderberg—not a name you've likely seen trending, but she cooked up this offbeat story where a not-quite-stable actor essentially dares the nation to watch him become a werewolf, live, with a one-hour warning. There's not much else out on which way it leans, horror-wise or comedy-wise, but considering Nanjiani's taste, you can imagine the tonal whiplash will be deliberate. Amazon MGM's Orion Studios is backing it, so if you're trying to keep tabs, pile this one on the streaming-movie heap.
Howl is currently in development, so there's no set release date, no casting, just Nanjiani in the director's chair, with Deadline breaking the exclusive.
Nanjiani's Recent Run
If you're only catching up with Kumail Nanjiani from his run as cosmic Bollywood demigod Kingo in Marvel's Eternals back in 2021, there's been a lot more since. Eternals got a proper mixed reception, but even the Marvel cynics mostly agreed Nanjiani stole his scenes. Past that, he was Rudy Thurber in Hulu's Only Murders in the Building, and took the lead in the streamer's mini-series Welcome to Chippendales.
You might also remember him for the glory days of Silicon Valley on HBO—still his finest TV work, in my opinion—and he's popped up in the likes of Fallout from Amazon MGM, and HBO cult favourite The White Lotus.
What's Next?
- The Wrong Girls — Feature for Neon
- Very Young Frankenstein — FX series
- Green Bank — Upcoming sci-fi thriller
- The Comeback — Comedy feature from Judd Apatow
That's ignoring his other specialist subject: stand-up. He kicked off with Beta Male ages ago, and more recently, his special Night Thoughts dropped on Hulu in December 2025. Critics liked it and it scraped a Golden Globe nomination, so still very much in the awards conversation.