The Possession Movie Remake Is Changing One Crucial Thing From The 1981 Classic

Possession is one of those controversial horror movies that, despite getting ratings on IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes, continues to divide audiences due to its disturbing imagery, unconventional storytelling, and unrestrained performances. Paramount still did not shy away from introducing the Possession movie remake at this year’s CinemaCon.  

According to Variety, the 1981 supernatural thriller Possession, starring Callum Turner (Eternity, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them) and Margaret Qualley (How to Make a Killing, Poor Things), is coming to theaters next summer. 

Turner’s upcoming projects include One Night Only, releasing in August 2026, alongside Rosebush Pruning, also scheduled for an August release. His Rose of Nevada gained a remarkable critics’ score; it is a fascinating folk-horror time-travel film. Also, Margaret Qualley’s upcoming projects include The Dog Stars, to be released this August, and Jeff Nichols’ King Snake, recently acquired by Neon. 

Other cast members include Diego Calva, Madeline Brewer, Emory Cohen, Nicholas Alexander Chavez, and Paul Dano, whose roles are not yet disclosed. 

The film will be helmed by Smile director Parker Finn. The producers include Finn, Jonathan Fass, Roy Lee, Andrew Childs, and Robert Pattinson. Marc Beienstock will serve as executive producer. 

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Plot details of the Possession remake

The 1981 original revolves around the relationship between a spy and his wife. The husband, Mark, returns to West Berlin to find his wife, Anna, demanding a divorce. As their relationship falls apart drastically, Mark discovers Anna is hiding a grotesque tentacled creature in a derelict apartment with which she is having a bizarre affair.  

Director’s vision for the film

Parker Finn is known for his horror films, Smile (2022) and Smile 2 (2024), where he tends to put the audience inside the protagonist’s deteriorating mental state rather than simply showing the monster. In Smile, we are following Rose extremely closely as her certainty about reality begins to collapse, and this is exactly what Finn’s approach is. 

He intends to make the Possession remake more conventional than Andrzej Żuławski’s 1981 film. The original isn’t frightening because of the creature, but the real horror comes from watching Anna and Mark’s psychological disintegration. Finn’s strength is taking that kind of deterioration and turning it into a sustained cinematic experience.

The original gradually moves from marital argument, paranoia, bizarre behavior, infidelity, psychological breakdown, body horror, and then takes shape as complete surrealism. Finn understands this progression well and plans to apply it to the remake.   

What is the one thing the Possession movie remake is changing?

The most important change is the film’s setting and context. The 1981 Possession is inseparable from its Cold War-era setting in West Berlin. Mark is a spy, and his collapsing marriage is intertwined with the political anxiety and divided-city atmosphere of the period. The original story deliberately uses Berlin and its political situation as part of its psychological horror. 

Finn’s version is being filmed in New Jersey, with Qualley and Turner taking over the roles of Anna and Mark, respectively. Moving the story away from Cold War Berlin means Finn has to find a new environment that can generate the same sense of alienation rather than simply copying the original’s imagery. 

Taking the film to a new location might suggest that Finn appears to be approaching it as reinterpreted rather than reproducing Żuławski’s exact symbolism. He might make something that honors the original while creating something new rather than simply reproducing it. 

When is the Possession remake releasing?

Paramount has slated the Possession remake for a release on June 11, 2027. It is to open alongside Universal’s live-action How to Train Your Dragon 2.