LaKeith Stanfield Exits Paramount’s ‘Molepeople’ As Ben Wheatley Replaces Rob Savage As Director

Two key creatives have fallen out of Molepeople, Paramount’s new horror thriller co-financed and co-produced by Blumhouse Atomic Monster and Paramount Primal: star LaKeith Stanfield and director Rob Savage, who hands over the reins to English filmmaker Ben Wheatley.

Reasons for Stanfield’s departure haven’t been disclosed; Savage’s are chalked up to scheduling conflicts. We’re told the situation is amicable across the board.

Savage is fresh off the release of Other Mommy, a Jessica Chastain-led horror film for Blumhouse Atomic Monster and Universal, based on a novel by Josh Malerman, which while underperforming with critics, topped the domestic box office the weekend of October 9 and has grossed nearly $100M worldwide at time of reporting.

In Molepeople, a man descends into the abandoned tunnels beneath New York City, where he discovers a twisted society lurking beneath the streets. Paramount is set to distribute the film worldwide on August 27, 2027; they announced the casting of Stanfield and Ben Mendelsohn, who remains on board, the same day Other Mommy opened. It’s unclear whether to expect a shift in schedule, as reports had the film entering production in the UK as soon as the end of November.

Penned by Savage’s Other Mommy collaborator Nathan Elston, Molepeople was developed independently, with Savage first announced as director in October 2024. Raphael Margules and J. D. Lifshitz, who were set to produce via their BoulderLight Pictures banner, brought the project into Paramount after being tapped to lead the studio’s new genre-focused label, Paramount Primal.

Jason Blum is producing alongside Lifshitz, Margules and James Harris. Ryan Turek and Tracy Rosenblum will exec produce alongside Savage and Elston.

A respected genre filmmaker, Wheatley most recently directed the Bob Odenkirk-led action thriller Normal, which released through Magnolia Pictures after premiering in the Midnight section of TIFF. Perhaps best known for the films Free Fire, executive produced by Martin Scorsese, and an adaptation of J.G. Ballard’s High-Rise — both for StudioCanal — he made his debut with Down Terrace, followed by Kill List, which earned six British Independent Film Award nominations, including Best Director and Best Screenplay. His filmography also includes a take on Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca for Netflix and Meg 2: The Trench for Warner Bros., among other projects. He is represented by WME, Independent Talent Group and Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole.

Savage broke out with Host, an ingenious screenlife flick emerging from the Covid pandemic period, which released with Shudder and Vertigo Releasing. Subsequently, he’s helmed the horror flicks Dashcam and The Boogeyman for Momentum and 20th/Hulu, respectively. He is repped by Independent Talent Group, WME, Exile Entertainment and Jackoway Austen Tyerman.

Stanfield is coming off turns in Boots Riley’s I Love Boosters and Neon’s stoner comedy The Wrong Girls. Upcoming, he has Warner Bros.’ Taylor Sheridan-penned F.A.S.T. and John Lee Hancock’s Monsanto film for Netflix, among other projects. He is repped by CAA, Stark Management and Ginsburg Daniels Kallis.