David Lowery to Direct Adaptation of Bram Stoker Award Winner ‘The Fisherman’ With Focus

Focus has picked up the adaptation rights for the supernatural horror novel The Fisherman, with David Lowery attached to direct and co-write the screenplay, according to an announcement reported Tuesday by The Hollywood Reporter. The project reunites two groups of major genre players, including Lowery, known for moving between dramatic and horror-tinged work, and producers associated with big-screen franchise filmmaking.

Lowery will adapt the novel for the film, and will share writing credit with Alex Ross Perry. Lowery’s most recent feature work referenced in the report includes the ghost story psychodrama Mother Mary. The Fisherman is the source material’s second major push for the screen after its recognition in the literary-horror market.

The Fisherman, by John Langan, was published in 2016 and received a Bram Stoker Award for best novel. The report characterizes the book as a blend of cosmic horror and folk horror. The story follows two widowers, Abe and Dan, who form a bond through fishing getaways in upstate New York as a way to cope with grief.

According to the report, the plot turns when Dan suggests the pair try a new, isolated location called Dutchman’s Creek, a place circulated through local whisperings as having a supernatural ability to show someone their loved ones. Even a warning told from a diner about the creek’s history does not stop the two men, and the narrative ultimately brings them face-to-face with Der Fisher, also known as The Fisherman.

The film is being produced through collaborations involving Platinum Dunes and Coin Operated. The report names Michael Bay, along with Brad Fuller and Alex Ginno, as producers via Platinum Dunes, a banner tied to a number of large horror and thriller properties. It also lists Gary Dauberman, associated with writing credits on New Line releases including It and Annabelle, as part of the producing team.

Coin Operated, a production company run by Mia Maniscalco, is also attached as a producer. The report frames the project as one where multiple established horror powerhouses are converging on a single adaptation, with Focus handling the package for development.

As the project moves from rights acquisition and creative attachment to production planning, the next steps will likely include confirming casting, finalizing the production schedule, and completing the screenplay in a form suitable for Focus’s release strategy. With the novel’s award track record and an established creative team already in place, the project’s development process will be closely watched by the genre audience that follows both Lowery’s work and the producing teams’ track record in theatrical horror.

For now, no release date or casting slate was included in the report. The adaptation’s progress will hinge on whether the screenplay builds on the source novel’s grief-driven premise while translating its supernatural and folk-horror elements into a feature-length narrative designed for a mainstream audience.