Focus Features has acquired the rights to adapt The Fisherman, a supernatural horror novel by John Langan, with acclaimed filmmaker David Lowery attached to direct and co-write the script alongside Alex Ross Perry. The project matters because it brings together heavyweight horror talent and a genre-hopping director whose recent work includes the psychodrama Mother Mary, signalling a high-profile take on a well-regarded literary property.

The producing team pairs Michael Bay, Brad Fuller and Alex Ginno of Platinum Dunes (A Quiet Place, The Purge) with Gary Dauberman, writer of the It and Annabelle films, and Mia Maniscalco of their company Coin Operated. Langan's 2016 novel, which won the Bram Stoker Award for best novel, follows two grieving widowers, Abe and Dan, whose fishing trips lead them to the mysterious Dutchman's Creek and a confrontation with the entity known as The Fisherman. The book has been described as a blend of cosmic and folk horror. Focus declined to comment.