Last summer, Michael Shanks’ relationship body horror Together was a summer indie darling, winning praise from critics and audiences alike. I expected it to do more at the box office, but it still did pretty well with $34M. Now, Shanks is back with a much bigger film, a mystery sci-fi comedy that will see him team up with director Adam McKay and Sony Pictures.
THR reports that McKay will direct this new project from Shanks’ screenplay. Sony Pictures just scooped up the film, but firm plot details are being kept a secret for now. Also aboard is producer Andrew Mittman, whose work on the Netflix series Wednesday and Tim Burton’s Attack of the Fifty-Foot Woman remake place him firmly in this genre space.
Shanks and McKay already have another project in the works together, the sci-fi film Hotel Hotel Hotel Hotel that Daniel Kaluuya is attached to lead. McKay is producing that one, with Shanks directing it as his follow-up to Together.
McKay hasn’t directed anything since Netflix’s disaster comedy Don’t Look Up back in 2021. He is one of the most successful comedy filmmakers ever with huge hits under his belt including Anchorman, Anchorman 2, Step Brothers, Talladega Nights, and The Other Guys. He made a successful move to political comedy with The Big Short and Vice.
