Jason Blum’s Blumhouse and James Wan’s Atomic Monster are teaming up to bring IDW’s horror comic book series, The Exorcism at 1600 Penn, to the big screen.
The two studios are developing a feature film based on the independent comic series written by Hannah Rose May, illustrated by Vanesa Del Rey, with colors from Eisner Award-winning colorist Jordie Bellaire. The Exorcism at 1600 Penn is a supernatural political thriller that follows the story of the United States’ first female president, Kelly Doyle, as she leads the fight between good and evil.
Blumhouse’s VP of Development, Ryan Turek, expressed his excitement about producing The Exorcism at 1600 Penn. In a statement to Deadline, he explained how he was impressed by how believable the story feels despite it being a supernatural story. He also loves how it blends traditional elements of horror with modern politics.
What immediately drew us to The Exorcism at 1600 Penn was how grounded and urgent it feels. Hannah has created a story that fuses classic possession horror with contemporary political tension in a way that feels bold and deeply human. It is exactly the kind of material we look for when we think about expanding horror into new spaces, and we are excited to identify a filmmaker who can bring this world to the screen with the scale and perspective it deserves.
May, who created the comic, described the film adaptation as a major milestone for her. She said that collaborating with Blumhouse was very meaningful and described it as “a dream come true.” She also thanked IDW for its continued support of her work. Check out her full statement below:
Getting to work with Blumhouse to bring The Exorcism at 1600 Penn to the big screen feels like a dream come true. Blumhouse has defined modern horror for a generation, and I could not be more excited to be working with them on this adaption. I am so grateful to my incredible partners at IDW for their tireless work to share this story with audiences around the world.
The Exorcism at 1600 Penn’s colorist Bellaire, has won several Eisner Awards for best coloring over the years. The artist has worked on several big-name comics for DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Image Comics, Dark Horse Comics, BOOM! Studios, and IDW Publishing throughout her career. These include Absolute Wonder Woman, Birds of Prey, The Amazing Spider-Man, X-Men, Daredevil, Deadpool, Witcher, and W0rldtr33.
The Exorcism at 1600 Penn can be purchased at local comic book shops and on IDW Publishing’s website. It is also available on Kindle, Apple Books, and Google Play Books.