Stranger Things Star David Harbour Boards Twisted New Dark Comedy From Weapons Filmmaker Zach Cregger

David Harbour has just bagged another lead role, this time in a new dark comedy that’s only just kicked off production in Los Angeles—and there’s already a fair bit of noise around it. Not only does it mark the directorial debut of Alex Kavutskiy (who also wrote the script), but it’s got several names onboard that’ll ring bells if you’re up-to-speed with recent cult horror hits.

Harbour Teams Up for 'Little One'

The film’s called 'Little One', and if you feel like you’ve heard that before—no, it’s not an indie horror band. Harbour is sharing the top billing with Gaby Hoffmann, an actor who’s been chalking up strong roles from 'Transparent' to 'C’mon C’mon' and 'Eric' on Netflix.

The actual plot? It’s all fairly hush-hush, but here’s what’s slipped out so far: there’s a family that, at first glance, seems to have everything together. That all goes sideways after a sudden—and pretty troubling—shift in the behaviour of their kid. There’s not a lot more getting past the curtain for now, so the character details and what exactly is going on are still anyone’s guess.

Seriously Heavyweight Horror Pedigree

Why all the buzz? It’s down to who’s producing. Zach Cregger and Roy Lee are heading things up—those two recently joined forces on the upcoming 'Weapons,' and if you rewind a bit, you’ll find them behind 'Barbarian', arguably one of the most talked-about genre breakouts of the last few years.

They’re working again with Hammerstone Studios, which handled the money on 'Barbarian' as well. The team’s padded out with producers Chris McEwen, Amanda Phillips, Melina Torres, Ibrahim Mohammed, Chase Vergari, and Kevin G. Lee. There’s a small army of executive producers chipping in as well, which is usually code for a project where a lot of people want their name attached.

Timing, Awards, and What’s Next for Harbour and Hoffmann

Filming has just started in Los Angeles this month, partly thanks to a helpful tax credit from the state of California—those schemes are keeping more productions local, for once.

• Harbour’s calendar isn’t exactly clear: on top of this, he recently nabbed a Gotham TV Award for his supporting role in HBO’s 'DTF St. Louis'.
• People, of course, still know him best as Jim Hopper from 'Stranger Things'—five seasons and counting—plus his turns in films like 'Black Widow', 'Extraction', and that not-great 'Hellboy' reboot.
• He’s also gearing up for another round as Red Guardian in 'Avengers: Doomsday', so 'Little One' is just one stop on a pretty busy circuit.
• Gaby Hoffmann, for her part, continues a solid streak, turning up in buzzy film and TV projects over the past few years.

The finer points of the cast, who’s playing who, and how twisted this family drama gets—they’re all being kept under wraps, which is usually a sign that audiences can expect something not quite standard issue.