Sony Screen Gems has landed the supernatural horror project Mime beating out Amazon and Searchlight in a competitive bidding war, with John David Washington attached to star. The deal, reported in early August 2026, pairs the Tenet actor with Nanny filmmaker Nikyatu Jusu and horror producer Scott Derrickson on a project still in its early stages.
Key Takeaways
- Sony Screen Gems beat Amazon and Searchlight in a bidding war to acquire the supernatural horror film Mime, reported in early August 2026.
- John David Washington, known for Tenet and The Creator, is attached to star and also produce the film.
- Nikyatu Jusu, director of the Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner Nanny, is set to direct Mime from a screenplay by Stephen Herman.
- The film is set in a New York City apartment complex during a heat wave blackout, according to reporting on the project.
- Scott Derrickson, producer of Black Phone 2, will produce under his Crooked Highway banner alongside Matt Tolmach and Camila Grove, with Mime falling under his first-look deal with Screen Gems.
The acquisition signals how aggressively Screen Gems is building out a horror pipeline around Scott Derrickson, betting a three-way bidding war and a rising Black leading man can turn an under-the-radar spec script into one of the studio’s next genre bets.
What the Deal Covers and When It Happened
Sony Pictures’ Screen Gems has secured the rights to Mime a supernatural horror film that eluded both Amazon and Searchlight. Screenwriter Stephen Herman crafted the project from an original concept he developed, and production is currently underway with filming targeted for spring.
No logline has been released, but the setting has leaked out: a New York City apartment complex during a heat wave blackout. That’s a tight, contained premise, the kind of single-location setup horror filmmakers often use to control budget while cranking up tension between neighbors trapped together.
Nikyatu Jusu, who directed the Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner Nanny is attached to helm. Her hire tells its own story. A studio doesn’t hand a claustrophobic, high-concept horror script to just anyone, and picking a director whose debut already won Sundance’s top prize suggests Screen Gems wants prestige credibility alongside genre thrills.
Who Benefits From This Deal
John David Washington stands to gain the most visible boost. He is repped by WME and broke out in Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman before starring in Christopher Nolan’s Tenet Gareth Edwards’ The Creator and the 2024 drama The Piano Lesson. Taking on a producer credit alongside the starring role gives him a stake in the project beyond a paycheck, a move that mirrors how other in-demand actors have used producing credits to shape material rather than just appear in it.
Nikyatu Jusu benefits differently. Landing a studio horror picture with a recognizable star attached is a substantial step up from the independent scale of Nanny which Amazon and Blumhouse acquired for global rights out of Sundance 2022. That deal was valued at $7 million, a modest figure by studio standards, making this new pairing with Washington and a three-studio bidding war a clear jump in scale for her.
Scott Derrickson also wins here. Mime falls under his first-look deal with Screen Gems, meaning the studio gets first crack at whatever his Crooked Highway banner develops. That arrangement already has another project in the pipeline, Bitter Bitter based on an award-winning short.
How This Fits Derrickson’s Track Record
Scott Derrickson has built a reputation directing and producing horror with commercial upside, most recently with Black Phone 2. His Crooked Highway banner is producing Mime alongside Matt Tolmach, who packaged the project, and Tolmach’s producing partner Camila Grove.
Matt Tolmach’s other current work offers a useful contrast in scale. He is producing Jumanji: Open Worldthe next installment in a franchise that has grossed north of $2 billion, arriving in theaters on Christmas Day. Pairing a producer whose resume includes a multibillion-dollar tentpole with a scrappy, single-location horror script suggests Screen Gems sees real commercial potential in Mime despite its modest premise.
Why Nikyatu Jusu’s Hire Matters Beyond This Film
Nikyatu Jusu’s Nanny made history as the first horror film to win Sundance’s U.S. Dramatic Competition Grand Jury Prize. That film starred Anna Diop as a Senegalese immigrant nanny in New York City, with Michelle Monaghan, Sinqua Walls, Morgan Spector and Rose Decker rounding out the cast.
Her jump from that acclaimed, character-driven horror debut to a studio-backed genre picture with a star like John David Washington reflects a broader pattern: Sundance breakthroughs increasingly translate into major studio opportunities rather than remaining confined to festival circuits. It also puts a Black director and a Black leading man at the center of a studio horror release, a pairing that remains less common in the genre than the box office success of films made by and starring Black talent would suggest it should be.
What Comes Next for Mime
Plenty remains unsettled. There is no confirmed release date, no finalized cast beyond Washington, and no official plot synopsis beyond the blackout setting. Screen Gems has not disclosed the deal’s financial terms, and it’s not public how the three-studio bidding war affected the final price.
What is confirmed is the spring shoot target and the creative team locked in around it: Washington starring and producing, Jusu directing, Herman’s script as the foundation, and Derrickson, Tolmach and Grove producing. Stephen Herman, repped by Verve, Kaplan/Perrone and attorney Marios Rush, has other projects moving through the pipeline too, including an adaptation of his short story They’re Still Here for New Regency and The Cullingwhich sold to Lionsgate with David Sandberg attached to direct.
Whether Mime becomes the kind of breakout Nanny was on the festival circuit, or the kind of commercial hit Tolmach’s other work has delivered, depends on choices still ahead: casting beyond Washington, how the blackout premise translates to screen, and whether Screen Gems markets it as prestige horror or a straightforward genre thriller. For now, the bidding war itself is the clearest signal that three major studios saw something worth fighting over in a script most of Hollywood hadn’t heard of a week earlier.
FAQs
What Is Mime Actually About?
No official plot synopsis has been released. What’s known is that the supernatural horror film is set in a New York City apartment complex during a heat wave blackout, based on an original idea from screenwriter Stephen Herman.
When Will Mime Start Filming?
The project is in active development with the intention of shooting in the spring, though no specific start date has been confirmed.
Who Else Has Been Cast in Mime Besides John David Washington?
No additional cast members have been announced. John David Washington is the only actor confirmed to be attached at this stage.
Why Did Three Studios Compete for Mime?
Sony Screen Gems, Amazon and Searchlight all pursued the project, though the specific reasons behind the competitive interest have not been disclosed publicly.
What Is Nikyatu Jusu’s Background as a Director?
Nikyatu Jusu made her feature directorial debut with Nanny, which won the Grand Jury Prize in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at Sundance, becoming the first horror film to receive that honor.
What Is Scott Derrickson’s Role Beyond Producing Mime?
Scott Derrickson has a first-look deal with Screen Gems through his Crooked Highway banner, which is also producing another project called Bitter Bitter based on an award-winning short.
Has a Release Date Been Set for Mime?
No release date has been announced. The film is still in development, with production targeted for spring.
