While most studios are pushing their films back to 2021 and beyond due to the pandemic, Disney is opting to release 20th Century Studios' adaptation of BOOM! Studios' horror comic The Empty Man in theaters this month. Ahead of the film's October 23 theatrical release, comes the first trailer.
In what looks like a pretty generic and straightforward supernatural horror flick, The Empty Man follows retired cop James Lasombra (James Badge Dale) as he investigates the disappearance of a group of teens from a small Midwestern town. As the trailer alludes, their disappearance is seemingly linked to an old urban legend known as The Empty Man, a horrific otherworldly entity that can be summoned by blowing into an empty bottle and thinking about him while standing on a bridge.
The Empty Man is an adaptation of the BOOM! Studios graphic novel series of the same name, created by Cullen Bunn and Vanesa R. Del Ray in 2014. According to the series synopsis, Empty Man doesn't refer to a specific being or person, but is instead a horrific disease that has swept the nation, causing "insanity and violence."
When The Empty Man returned as a comic book series in 2018, The Hollywood Reporter further detailed that these symptoms of hallucinations, suicidal dementia and fits of rage, all eventually lead to either death or an “empty” catatonic state.
20th Century Studios’ “The Empty Man” is a supernatural horror film based on a popular series of Boom! Studios graphic novels. After a group of teens from a small Midwestern town begin to mysteriously disappear, the locals believe it is the work of an urban legend known as The Empty Man. As a retired cop investigates and struggles to make sense of the stories, he discovers a secretive group and their attempts to summon a horrific, mystical entity, and soon his life—and the lives of those close to him—are in grave danger. Directed by David Prior from a screen story and screenplay by David Prior based on the graphic novel by Cullen Bunn, “The Empty Man” stars James Badge Dale, Marin Ireland, Stephen Root, Ron Canada, Robert Aramayo, Joel Courtney and Sasha Frolova. The film is produced by Ross Richie, p.g.a. and Stephen Christy, p.g.a.
The Empty Man is written by David Prior, who will also be making his feature directorial debut with this movie. The film is slated to hit theaters on October 23, just in time for one final Halloween scare.