Slender Man, created by Something Awful contributor Eric Knudsen, is expanding his empire of terror. The scary AF meme that's inspired everything from real-life acts of horror to harmless cosplay is getting the full-length film treatment, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Screen Gems is currently deep in presumably meme-based discussions with Mythology Entertainment to finalize a deal for the mysterious figure's cinematic debut. As Slender Man does not actually exist, he is not expected to receive compensation.
The film, which plans to kick off production this fall, features a script from 13 Sins writer David Birke. How Birke spins the meme's lore into big screen chills, however, remains as big of a mystery as Slender Man himself. As surely terrifying as a fictional Slender Man movie probably definitely is, the forthcoming HBO documentary Beware the Slenderman just might best even the most creative of adaptations.
"I think it's so easy to want to have a villain, it's totally human," Beware the Slenderman director Irene Taylor Brodsky toldComplex shortly after the documentary's SXSW premiere. "You want to know there’s a villain. But I really don't think there's one single villain. I think it's more of a perfect storm of the media, the age, the social isolation these girls were feeling, and also it's important to remember that Slenderman is a good idea. He's an idea. He's a character that somebody thought of."
Following the revelation that rumors of American Horror Story tackling some Slender Man action of their own next season had been greatly exaggerated, the fact that Birke's take on the ubiqitous meme is heading straight for the big screen is good news for people who love bad truly unsettling news. Given the lessons of Deadpool, hopefully everyone involved knows the best path forward is to fight like hell for an R rating.
