“Bates Motel” star Olivia Cooke will topline and Douglas Smith will be the male lead in Universal’s supernatural thriller “Ouija,” with filming beginning next week in and around Los Angeles.
Universal Pictures, Platinum Dunes, Blumhouse Productions and Hasbro are producing. Stiles White is directing from a script he co-wrote with Juliet Snowden.
Producers are Michael Bay, Brad Fuller and Andrew Form for Platinum Dunes, Jason Blum for Blumhouse Productions and Brian Goldner and Bennett Schneir for Hasbro.
Based on the gameboard that is said to summon spirits, “Ouija” began at Universal with McG brought on to direct. After disagreements on budget, Universal exited the project and “Ouija” reverted back to Hasbro with McG leaving. Hasbro and Platinum Dunes re-conceived the project with a lower budget and Universal re-launched the project with low-budget specialist Blum on board.
Cooke previously starred in the Brit miniseries “The Secret of Crickley Hall.” Her upcoming roles include “The Signal” with Brenton Thwaites, which will premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, and “The Quiet Ones” with Sam Claflin, which will be released in April.
Smith’s credits include “Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters,” HBO’s “Big Love” and the independent film “The Boy Who Smells Like Fish.”
