‘Breeders’: Olivia Cooke to Lead Adam McKay Produced Horror-Thriller!!

A new project from writer/director Adam McKay is in the works, and it’s already found its first star with Olivia Cooke. Per The Hollywood Reporter, Lionsgate has acquired the rights to horror-thriller feature Breeders. The idea for the film comes from McKay and Brian Steele, with Steele writing the screenplay. Kelsey Bollig will make her feature directorial debut with Breeders.

Plot details remain under wraps for the time being. However, according to THR, Breeders will hold a similar tone to that of Hulu‘s original film Fresh, which follows a young woman whose dating pursuits take a turn for the worst. The movie examines the darker side of modern dating.

Despite little being known about the film, Cooke and Bollig‘s involvement already suggest a promising film as both have worked on similar projects prior to Breeders. First, Cooke has appeared in a variety of horror and thriller films and series. She starred in A&E‘s Psycho prequel series Bates Motel as Emma Decody, a teenage girl who befriended a young Norman Bates as he navigated his complex relationship with his mother and declining mental health. Cooke also starred in the 2014 horror movies Ouija and The Quiet Ones, the latter of which was inspired by true events. Meanwhile, Bollig has won multiple awards for her short films at festivals such as the NOLA Horror Film Festival and Women in Horror Film Festival, among others.

About Breeders, Erin Westerman, President of Production at Lionsgate, told THR:

“[Bollig’s] films come straight out of a horror sensibility she’s been honing her entire life, and ‘Breeders’ is a perfect example — it’ll be terrifying and Olivia Cooke is perfect for it. It’s also a thrill to be working with Adam, who originated this idea and will shepherd Kelsey’s project with expertise and a first-rate sense of story.”

Breeders will be produced by McKay and Todd Schulman for Hyperobject Industries. Scott O’Brien brought the film to Lionsgate and will oversee it with Brady Fujikawa.

Along with the above-mentioned projects, Cooke recently appeared in Apple TV+‘s Slow Horses and starred in the Academy award-winning film Sound of Metal across Riz Ahmed. She will star in HBO‘s upcoming Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon as Lady Alicent Hightower. Bollig‘s previous short films include Asking for a Friend, The Fourth Wall, and the newly debuted Kickstart My Heart. McKay‘s recent features include Netflix‘s Don’t Look Up, which garnered four Oscar nominations, and Vice, which earned eight Oscar nominations and took home the award for Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling. McKay also recently executive produced Freeform‘s Motherland: Fort Salem and HBO Max‘s Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty.