EXCLUSIVE: In a competitive situation, Universal Pictures has acquired Portrait of God, a spec from emerging filmmaker Dylan Clark that expands on the world of his viral horror short of the same name.

Written by Clark and Joe Russo (The Inheritance), the film will mark the first collaboration of producers Sam Raimi and Jordan Peele, two of the biggest names in horror, who have never before worked together.

While the plot of the feature take is being kept under wraps, the short centers on a religious young woman who discovers the disquieting answer to the question, “What does God look like?” Opening with a quote from the Old Testament — “No man shall see Me and live” — it finds Mia sitting in the dark, practicing a slide presentation about a work of art dubbed “Portrait of God.” To some who view the painting, she says, it appears completely black. But others report seeing a person in the darkness — one who’s been described time and again, in consistent detail. Minimalistic yet menacing, the short offers a counterpoint to the idea of God as a benevolent entity. Viewers of the portrait, beware.

Portrait of God has accrued over 8.6 million views on YouTube since premiering in August 2022. Peele and Win Rosenfeld will produce the feature adaptation through Monkeypaw Productions‘ first-look deal with the studio, alongside Raimi and Romel Adam through Ghost House Pictures and Russo. Chris Rosati, who brought the project to Monkeypaw, will executive produce, with Sam Evenson co-producing. Jose Cañas will oversee the project for Ghost House, with Kate Oh overseeing for Monkeypaw and Executive Vice President of Production Development Sara Scott overseeing for Universal.

Not to be confused for the Emmy-nominated producer behind The Batman and The Penguin, Dylan Clark is a genre filmmaker who has gained a large following in the YouTube horror space. Gravitating toward horror’s intersection with religion and/or technology, his other short films have also amassed millions of views online. Clark fell in love with filmmaking while growing up between Germany and Austria, before earning a degree in film production and screenwriting from Ithaca College. Currently, he’s also writing to direct an adaptation of his short film Story Time, with Zak Olkewicz and LD Entertainment aboard to produce. He is repped by 3 Arts, UTA and Ginsburg Daniels Kallis.

Monkeypaw is coming off the release of Him, the football-themed horror film from director Justin Tipping, which stars Tyriq Withers and Marlon Wayans. While Peele had at one point been set to deliver his next directorial effort on the heels of Nope this past December, his follow-up has been pushed repeatedly, most recently being pulled from Universal’s schedule entirely back in September. Peele and Monkeypaw are repped by CAA and Yorn, Levine, Barnes.

Ghost House most recently wrapped production on Play Dead — a survival thriller described as Don’t Breathe meets 1917 — as well as Evil Dead Burn. Sébastien Vanicek directed the sixth entry in the Evil Dead film series, which is slated for release on July 24, 2026. Up next for Ghost House is a still-untitled seventh installment in the franchise, written and to be directed by Francis Galluppi. Raimi and Ghost House are repped by CAA and Stewart Brookman and Mahdi Salehi at Hansen, Jacobson, Teller.

Russo is repped by Untitled Entertainment, Fictional Entity and Yorn Levine.