Scott Derrickson to helm Universal Pictures' Night of the Hunter retelling

Scott Derrickson is set to wear the director's hat for an upcoming adaptation of The Night of the Hunter, a novel by Davis Grubb. He is also the writer of the film's screenplay alongside C Robert Cargill, who has collaborated with him on films such as The Black Phone and Doctor Strange.

Peter Gethers is producing the film through his banner KramMar Delicious Mystery Productions, along with Amy Pascal. There is a first-look deal in place between Pascal Pictures and KramMar Delicious Mystery Productions.

The Night of the Hunter follows a serial killer pretending to be a preacher as he marries a widowed woman to get to the secret fortune of her late husband. It was Grubb's first novel. This is the second film adaptation based on the novel; the first one from Charles Laughton featured Robert Mitchum as the preacher with the letters L.O.V.E and H.A.T.E tattooed on his two hands' knuckles.