Sam Raimi is returning to one of horror’s most unsettling spaces: the fear of a performer losing control of his own creation. The filmmaker is set to direct Lionsgate’s modern update of Magic, the ventriloquist-dummy horror story originally adapted from William Goldman’s novel and famously brought to screen in 1978 with Anthony Hopkins in the lead role.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Raimi will direct the new version after previously being attached as a producer on the project. The film is being developed by Lionsgate as a modern adaptation of Goldman’s story, with Mark Swift and Damian Shannon writing the screenplay. The writers also worked with Raimi on Send Help, making Magic another horror project in the filmmaker’s current genre run.
The original Magic was directed by Richard Attenborough and starred Hopkins as Corky, a magician and ventriloquist whose rise to fame becomes inseparable from his dummy, Fats. What begins as a stage act slowly turns into something more disturbing, as Corky appears unable to control the personality he has created through the dummy. The 1978 film also featured Ann-Margret and Burgess Meredith, with Goldman adapting the screenplay from his own novel.
For Raimi, the material feels like a natural fit. The filmmaker’s horror identity has always been built on more than simple scares. From the manic physicality of The Evil Dead to the twisted humour and visual energy of his later genre work, Raimi has repeatedly shown an interest in fear that feels theatrical, unstable, and intensely expressive. Magic gives him a story where performance itself becomes the source of terror.
That is what separates Magic from a routine killer-doll revival. The dummy is frightening, but the deeper horror comes from the person holding it. Corky’s relationship with Fats is not just about a creepy object coming to life; it is about fractured identity, repression, control, and the possibility that a performer’s public act has become stronger than the person behind it. In a modern version, those ideas could feel even sharper.
Lionsgate Motion Picture Group chair Adam Fogelson described Raimi as the “dream director” for the project, calling his involvement a strong match between filmmaker and material. TheWrap reported that Raimi will produce the film alongside Roy Lee, with Chris Hammond, Tim Sullivan, and Raimi Productions’ Zainab Azizi also producing. Nathan Kahane, Paul Fishkin, and Andrew Childs are attached as executive producers, while Meredith Wieck and Pavan Kalidindi are overseeing the project for Lionsgate.
The new Magic also arrives at a time when horror continues to be one of Hollywood’s most dependable theatrical genres. Studios have frequently returned to recognizable horror properties, but this project carries a slightly different appeal. It has cult value, a strong original premise, and a central image — a ventriloquist and his dummy — that remains instantly unsettling without needing a large franchise mythology around it.
The 1978 film has endured because of Hopkins’ intense performance and the eerie presence of Fats. The dummy was not memorable only because of its appearance, but because of what it suggested about Corky’s mind. That psychological layer gives the remake room to be more than a nostalgia exercise. If Raimi leans into the story’s emotional breakdown, the new film could become a character-driven horror piece rather than a simple jump-scare update.
There is also a strong contemporary angle within the premise. A story about a performer consumed by a manufactured persona can speak to modern ideas of fame, public identity, and the pressure to maintain an image. The ventriloquist dummy may come from an older entertainment tradition, but the fear at the centre of Magic — that the act has overtaken the person — still feels relevant.
No casting or release date has been announced yet. For now, the major development is Raimi’s move into the director’s chair, which immediately gives the project more weight among horror fans. With the right lead actor and a tone that respects the psychological tension of Goldman’s story, Magic could become one of Lionsgate’s more interesting horror updates.
For Lionsgate, Magic is not just another horror remake. With Raimi directing, the film has a chance to revisit a cult psychological nightmare through a filmmaker who understands both fear and theatrical madness. If the new version leans into the fractured identity at the heart of the story, it could become one of the more intriguing horror projects now moving through Hollywood.
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