A 1978 horror classic, which enjoys a cult following and has slowly built a loyal fanbase over the years, will get a contemporary adaptation from filmmaker Sam Raimi ("Evil Dead", "Spiderman"). The film in question is the Anthony Hopkins-starrer "Magic" — an adaptation of author and award-winning screenwriter William Goldman's 1976 novel of the same name.
Goldman is known for the acclaimed screenplays of classics such as "All the President's Men", "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid", and "The Princess Bride".
Lionsgate is backing the project, which already had Raimi attached in a producing capacity for a while. Raimi has reportedly lined up "Magic" as his next directorial project after the success of "Send Help", a survival thriller released in theatres recently.
"Magic" follows a mentally unstable magician and ventriloquist named Corky (played by Anthony Hopkins in the original adaptation) whose foul-mouthed puppet, Fats, begins to completely control his mind and life, pushing him toward violence just as he attempts to rekindle a past romance.
The new adaptation has screenwriters Mark Swift and Damian Shannon (the duo behind "Freddy vs. Jason" and "Send Help") involved. Raimi will produce through his home banner, Raimi Productions, alongside horror producer Roy Lee ("It", "Weapons"), Chris Hammond, Tim Sullivan, and Zainab Azizi ("Send Help").
The project holds much promise since Raimi has always had a strong track record with the horror genre, with which he got his start before he found global blockbuster success with the original "Spiderman" trilogy, fronted by Tobey Maguire.
Raimi then returned to independent horror ventures, like "Drag Me to Hell" and "Send Help", while also helming the MCU biggie "Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness" and the fantasy epic "Oz the Great and the Powerful" in between.
While "Send Help", starring Rachel McAdams and Dylan O'Brien, didn't reach the massive blockbuster numbers of the "Spiderman" and the other Marvel outing, it is one of Raimi's biggest successes in the mid-budget horror department.
Released by 20th Century Studios in January 2026, "Send Help" topped the box office for two consecutive weeks and finished its theatrical run with roughly $94 million worldwide against a budget of $40 million. In fact, it's his highest-grossing non-franchise, non-IP project, outperforming his 2009 supernatural thriller "Drag Me to Hell" and his 1990 cult dark superhero flick "Darkman" (with Liam Neeson).
