Insecure creator Issa Rae and Us director Jordan Peele are teaming up to head Universal Pictures’ thriller Sinkhole, about a family who discovers the sinkhole in their backyard can repair anything — or, quite possibly, anyone.
Sinkhole, based on a short story from Leyna Krow (which you can read here), is about a family who moves into a house that has everything they could ever ask for and is within their price range. There’s only one caveat: the giant sinkhole in the backyard. The parents come to find out the unfortunate addition to their home has a mysterious power, in that it can fix anything that’s thrown into it.
According to Deadline, Rae is being tapped to potentially star in the film and will serve as a producer alongside Peele, Win Rosenfelt, Montrel McKay, Sara Rastogi, and author Krow. This comes after Rae’s show, Insecure, was nominated for eight Emmy Awards, including best actress for Rae herself.
The trade writes of the story origin, “[Krow] was initially inspired to write the piece when a group of local writers were asked to write short fairytales on the theme ‘I Married A Monster.’ She wanted to explore the notion of female perfection and was particularly interested in the ways society and cultures can promote the concept of women as imperfect or broken. Her story has the trappings of a grounded, psychological sci-fi/horror, but the subplot is a commentary on the human condition through the lens of female identity.”
This is the latest in a string of internet short stories, urban legends, and creepypasta that have been picked up for screen adaptations. For example, Tessa Thompson was recently tapped to produce an Amazon Studios television show based on The Left Right Game, a horror podcast (starring Thompson) that itself was based on the Reddit r/nosleep story by Jack Anderson. We’ll bring you more on Sinkhole as we know it.