Grave Encounters Is Back From the Dead: Reboot in the Works With Justin Long and Kate Bosworth

Justin Long and Kate Bosworth are quietly building a shared universe of spooky stuff together, and now they’re taking a swing at a cult favorite. Variety says the real-life couple is producing a new take on the 2011 found-footage chiller Grave Encounters, with Long also set to star. The original filmmakers are back too, which is both unusual and smart for a reboot like this.

How we got here

• They teamed up in 2022 for Neil LaBute’s horror comedy House of Darkness.
• Bosworth then made a voice cameo opposite Long in writer-director Zach Cregger’s Barbarian.
• They’re on screen together again in the survival thriller Coyotes, hitting theaters next month.
• Now they’re producing a Grave Encounters reboot with Colin Minihan and Stuart Ortiz, who wrote and directed the original and later wrote the 2012 sequel, Grave Encounters 2. Original producer Shawn Angelski is on board too. Long and Bosworth previously worked with Minihan on Coyotes.

What this new Grave Encounters is

The 2011 movie followed a ghost-hunting reality show crew that wanders into an actual nightmare in an abandoned mental hospital. The new version aims to update that concept for a bigger, more cinematic feel while dialing up the claustrophobia and psychological nastiness that turned the first film into a fan favorite.

Minihan, Ortiz, and Angelski are producing alongside Long and Bosworth. And yes, Long will be front and center on screen.

What everyone’s saying

Long and Bosworth say their creative spark with Minihan on Coyotes made this an easy yes, and they call themselves fans of the original. The goal is to honor what worked the first time while pushing it somewhere darker.

"Justin has defined genre cinema for over a decade and is the definitive scream king."

That’s Minihan and Ortiz, who also point out the original was a shoestring, self-financed scare machine they made in their 20s. Now they’re reimagining it with a bigger canvas and a known genre face helping lead the charge.

When it rolls

The plan is to start production next year. If you’re into night-vision panic and nerve-jangling corridors, it sounds like they want to crank the pressure even higher this time.