Jeff Nichols Enlists Powerhouse Trio Margaret Qualley, Drew Starkey and Michael Shannon for King Snake

Jeff Nichols is back with a new one, and it sounds gnarly in the best way. The Southern Gothic horror film is called 'King Snake,' and Deadline says Margaret Qualley, Drew Starkey, and Michael Shannon are signing on. After some recent chatter about Nichols struggling to lock financing, this thing is officially moving.

The hook

The movie centers on a young couple (Qualley and Starkey) who inherit a farm in rural Arkansas and realize the property comes with baggage — not just the family kind. We’re talking actual demons, folklore creatures, and the usual good-vs-evil collision that turns real-life problems into something much stranger. If Nichols leans into the mud, myths, and menace, this could be his creepiest swing yet.

Who is doing what

FilmNation Entertainment is producing. Nichols is producing too, alongside his Tri-State Pictures partners Brian Kavanaugh-Jones and Sarah Green, with Range Media Partners also in the mix. Glen Basner, FilmNation’s CEO, is backing Nichols here again — the two have a track record, and everyone’s talking about this as a natural reunion. The specific role for Michael Shannon hasn’t been revealed yet, but come on, it’s a Nichols film — of course he’s here.

Nichols and Shannon: the constant

Shannon has appeared in every Nichols movie so far, sometimes front and center, sometimes on the edges, and Nichols has never been shy about how central that partnership is to his work.

'He is not just a collaborator; he has become family to me. I owe my career to Michael Shannon. I learned how to direct from directing Michael Shannon... I want him in movies because he’s the greatest actor in the world. And if you’re a director and you have access to the greatest actor in the world, it makes sense that you would call him all the time.'

What the team is saying

Nichols, Sarah Green, and Brian Kavanaugh-Jones are pretty effusive about FilmNation, calling them the ideal partner thanks to years of working together and their habit of championing distinctive filmmakers. FilmNation, for its part, is selling 'King Snake' as Nichols bringing a fresh, bewitching take on the supernatural that lurks just outside everyday reality. Translation: they think this one plays big.

The money thing, cleared up

Not long ago — about two months — Shannon mentioned Nichols was having trouble pulling together financing for his next film. That was then. FilmNation stepped in, and 'King Snake' is now heading down the road.

• Title: 'King Snake'
• Genre: Southern Gothic horror
• Cast: Margaret Qualley, Drew Starkey, Michael Shannon (role TBA)
• Setting: Rural Arkansas farm with a cursed legacy
• Plot vibe: Real-world struggles collide with demons, creatures, and local myths
• Writer/Director: Jeff Nichols
• Producers: FilmNation Entertainment; Jeff Nichols with Tri-State Pictures partners Brian Kavanaugh-Jones and Sarah Green; in association with Range Media Partners
• Status: Moving forward after financing comes together; first reported by Deadline