UPDATED · Oct 18, 2026
Update, October 18, 2026: We have added Schafer’s full “batshit crazy” description of the shoot, flagged the “Bridesmaids meets Sinners” comparison now circulating, and updated the cast list with Deadline’s spring reporting, which settled Frank Dillane’s status.
Hunter Schafer has let one detail slip about the mystery A24 film she shot earlier this year: it is a vampire movie. Speaking at the Academy Museum Gala, she called it “batshit crazy” and said it might be her favorite thing she has ever filmed. She stopped short of saying who she plays, and A24 still has not announced a title, a synopsis or a date.
What we know
The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures held its sixth annual gala in Los Angeles on October 17, 2026, and posted Schafer’s remarks on its X account. As Dread Central reports, she said she “just did a vampire movie” earlier this year and called it possibly her favorite thing she has filmed. Asked why, she said it is “batshit crazy” and that she and her fellow actresses “got to act in sort of this batshit crazy way.”
That is the whole reveal. Per Dread Central, Schafer did not say whether she plays a vampire, explaining that she wasn’t sure she was allowed to, since the project sits on IMDb only as “Untitled A24 Project.”
Dread Central identifies that project as the untitled A24 film directed by Arkasha Stevenson, who made The First Omen for the same studio in 2024. Stevenson co-wrote the script with Tim Smith, her First Omen collaborator, and Ari Aster executive produces through Square Peg. Dread Central says no official title or release date has been announced.
The cast is big. Deadline reported in November 2025 that Schafer, Emma Corrin, Havana Rose Liu and Sophie Wilde had joined the film. On March 31, 2026, Deadline reported four more additions in a single article: Katelyn Rose Downey, Fabien Frankel, Suzanna Son and Emory Cohen. They joined Josh Hutcherson, Caleb Landry Jones and Whitmer Thomas alongside the four women named earlier. Deadline also reported that Frank Dillane, previously in talks, is no longer involved, which closes the loose end from our earlier version.
What is rumored
The premise. Since the casting coverage began, outlets have described the film as centering on a bachelor party that spirals into terror. Deadline and Dread Central both frame this as “reportedly,” and A24 has not released a synopsis. Deadline’s casting record is strong and the premise has stayed consistent across outlets, but nobody official has said it out loud. How a bachelor party and a vampire movie fit together is anyone’s guess, and we are not going to guess.
The tone. ComicBook.com ran a headline calling the film “Bridesmaids meets Sinners.” In the article text we could retrieve, Schafer’s quotes do not make that comparison. It reads as the outlet’s own framing, and ComicBook.com is not on our approved source list. It is a fun shorthand for “comedy-leaning ensemble vampire horror with a lot of women in it,” and Schafer’s “fellow actresses” line arguably points that way, but treat it as a vibe, not a fact.
The timing. PHANTASMAG previously floated a release “as early as next year,” meaning 2027, with no sourcing. A24 has announced nothing.
One correction worth repeating: some headlines have claimed Schafer “confirmed” she plays a vampire. The Dread Central transcript shows she declined to say.
What we don’t know yet
The title. The release date. Whether Schafer’s character has fangs or is running from them. Whether the bachelor-party premise and the vampire premise are two halves of the same story. What “batshit crazy” actually looks like on screen. A24 has not commented on any of it.
What it means
Stevenson’s follow-up to The First Omen is a vampire film with a stacked young ensemble and Ari Aster’s company behind it. That is an exciting shape for a project, especially from a director who already proved she can make studio horror feel nasty and strange.
Schafer knows the genre from the inside, with Cuckoo already on her résumé, and Phantasmag lists Mother Mary as another co-starring role this year. When an actress with that track record says a vampire movie beats everything else she has filmed, and that the whole cast was encouraged to go unhinged, that is worth paying attention to.
For now, file it under “vampire movie, confirmed by the star, everything else pending.” We will update when A24 decides to talk.