Paramount has officially put Smile 3 into development, and the horror franchise is changing hands behind the camera. A new filmmaker will take the director’s chair while the series creator shifts into a producing role and moves on to a separate project.
David Bruckner helms Smile 3 as Parker Finn takes on Possession remake
David Bruckner will direct Smile 3, and Nick Antosca will write the screenplay. The duo replaces Parker Finn, who created the franchise. Finn stays on as a producer with Temple Hill and pitched the framework for this third one. Jonathan Fass joins as executive producer (via Variety).
Bruckner comes with a heavy horror résumé. He directed the 2022 Hellraiser reboot, the 2017 psychological thriller The Ritual, and the 2020 supernatural horror film The Night House. He stays busy on multiple fronts: he is writing and developing a reboot of The Blob for Warner Bros., working on Universal’s adaptation of The Caretaker with Sydney Sweeney, and preparing to direct Mice for A24. On the other hand, Antosca created Apple’s Cape Fear miniseries and co-created Hulu’s The Act. His writing credits include 2021’s Antlers and the recent Colleen Hoover adaptation Verity.
Paramount has not revealed plot details for Smile 3. The first film followed Sosie Bacon as a therapist tormented by hallucinations after a patient died in front of her. The second put Naomi Scott in the role of a pop singer facing disturbing events during her tour. Each movie has stood alone with a new story and cast, so the threequel’s stars remain unknown.
Finn wrote and directed 2022’s Smile and 2024’s Smile 2. The original began as a streaming project before Paramount moved it to theaters, where it became a sleeper hit. The franchise has now passed $350 million worldwide. The creator isn’t leaving Paramount’s orbit. He now directs a remake of the 1981 supernatural thriller Possession, starring Callum Turner and Margaret Qualley, scheduled for June 11, 2027.
That scheduling conflict explains the shake-up: Finn hands Smile 3 to Bruckner while he focuses on Possession.
