Belgian filmmaker Michiel Blanchart is the leading choice to direct the next installment in New Line Cinema’s successful Final Destination franchise. While an official offer has not yet been made, Blanchart emerged as the top candidate following an intensive search. The film will mark his English-language directorial debut.
The new project, the seventh in the series, is moving forward as the sixth film, Final Destination: Bloodlines, nears its release. Lori Evans Taylor, who co-wrote Bloodlines with Gary Busick, is also writing the script for this follow-up.
The production team features several franchise veterans, including producers Craig Perry and Sheila Hanahan Taylor. They are joined by returning producers Jon Watts, Dianne McGunigle, and Toby Emmerich, with Warren Zide serving as executive producer.
The enduring premise of the Final Destination series centers on a character who has a deadly premonition, saving themselves and several others from a catastrophic event. However, the survivors soon find themselves hunted one by one by Death, an inescapable, invisible force. The franchise has earned over $1 billion worldwide, making it New Line’s third-highest-grossing horror property behind The Conjuring Universe ($2.73 billion) and the It films ($1.2 billion).
Blanchart is an acclaimed director whose short film, You’re Dead, Hélène, was shortlisted for a 2023 Academy Award and is being adapted into an English-language feature produced by Sam Raimi. His feature debut, the 2024 action-thriller Night Call, was a critical success, sweeping Belgium’s Magritte Awards with 10 wins, including Best Film, Best Director, and Best Screenplay for Blanchart. He is represented by WME and Ithaka Media.
