Blumhouse Gives Updates on Paranormal Activity 8, Saw 11, River, Something Is Killing the Children, and More | NYCC 2026

Friday night at New York Comic Con was focused on Blumhouse, with a 90-minute Blumfest panel devoted to various upcoming films from the partnership of Jason Blum's Blumhouse and James Wan's Atomic Monster. The panel kicked off with the announcement that YouTuber MatPat had signed a deal with Blumhouse to produce films based on indie horror games, the first of which would be Amanda the Adventurer: The Movie.

MatPat, Blumhouse founder Jason Blum, and Atomic Monster founder James Wan then previewed several projects, including quick status updates, director announcements, trailer reveals, and cast appearances.

The Exorcist: Martyrs trailer was revealed, with director Mike Flanagan and cast member Chiwetel Ejiofor in attendance. Flanagan expressed his goal to make the film as scary as possible and shared that he believes he has succeeded. Heidi Wong's new project for Blumhouse, an original short film to potentially develop into a feature, was also announced. The short will be written and directed by Wong, inspired by Eastern mythology and folklore.

A highly effective trailer for the slasher movie River was shown, set to premiere at TIFF. The film, produced by Universal in partnership with Blumhouse and Atomic Monster, centers on Jessica Rothe's character swimming in a river when a hulking, silent man (Dane DiLiegro) leaps in and threatens her. Rothe described River as a "wild fucking ride."

Blumhouse and Atomic Monster also provided quick updates on franchise reboots, such as RoboCop (a Prime Video series with Dan Stevens) and the next Blair Witch and Saw entries. For Saw 11, Blum emphasized the importance of purchasing the franchise and putting it back under the guidance of Wan and Leigh Whannell, who created the original film.

Wan hinted at the film's new direction, saying, "The thing I really want to say, I cannot say just yet. What makes a Saw movie a Saw movie, I think you guys just have to wait... it'll be worth it!"

Paranormal Activity 8 updates were shared, with Blumhouse acknowledging the significance of the title and Wan's push to make a new film that pays tribute to the original. The film would take inspiration from the first Paranormal Activity, including returning to the bedroom where Katie and Micah lived. Finally, Molepeople, starring Lakeith Stanfield, was announced as the next project from director Rob Savage.

Savage described the film as a "subturanan horror movie" in the vein of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Hills Have Eyes, featuring Stanfield as the lead actor.