Anthony Hopkins starred in the previous version of Magic in 1978. Now Sam Raimi is set to direct a new take on the puppet horror. Veteran director Sam Raimi recently made a triumphant return to splatter-y horror with Send Help this year. It was a refreshing turn to more original (and graphic) territory following such ... Magic | Sam Raimi to direct new take on the puppet horror story
Anthony Hopkins starred in the previous version of Magic in 1978. Now Sam Raimi is set to direct a new take on the puppet horror.
Veteran director Sam Raimi recently made a triumphant return to splatter-y horror with Send Help this year. It was a refreshing turn to more original (and graphic) territory following such polished studio films as Oz The Great And Powerful and Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness.
Raimi now has a more restrained horror movie lined up: Magic, based on the book by William Goldman. About a ventriloquist and his murderous, potty-mouthed doll, it was previously adapted into a film in 1978.
Richard Attenborough directed, Goldman wrote the screenplay, and Anthony Hopkins memorably played Corky, the disturbed entertainer who lets all hid darkest impulses pour out through his wooden sidekick, Fats. (The voice Hopkins adopts for Fats is genuinely disturbing.)
Raimi will make the new Magic for Lionsgate, according to Deadline, while the script is being written by mark Swift and Damian Shannon, who previously wrote Send Help as well as Freddy Vs Jason and the 2009 Friday The 13th remake.
“Sam is the dream director for this project — in fact, his coming aboard represents one of the truly great matches of director and material,” Lionsgate boss Adam Fogelson said in a statement. “The script is fantastic, and we could not be more excited to see Sam’s direction and creative vision take it to another level. We are absolutely thrilled he has chosen to direct the film.”
Fogelson makes a good point about Raimi being a good fit for the material. His Evil Dead movies contained those memorable scenes where Bruce Campbell’s Ash fought against his own demon-possessed hand. Magic is essentially that, but much lower key. It remains to be seen whether Swift and Shannon will stick to the letter of Goldman’s book – a psychological thriller and doomed romance as much as a horror – or whether they’ll use it as a jumping-off point for something more outlandish.
You can listen to our conversation with the great Sam Raimi in a February 2026 edition of the Film Stories Podcast. We’ll bring you more on Raimi’s new Magic as we hear it.
