Filmportal.de reported in February that Jeremy Irvine had won the role of James Sunderland in Christophe Gans’ new Silent Hill movie, Return to Silent Hill, and it appears that the publication was right on the money. Sources with Deadline have now confirmed that the War Horse star is set to lead the horror reboot as Silent Hill 2’s fan-favorite protagonist, and he will be joined by Hannah Emily Anderson, an actress whose more recent credits include Jigsaw, the eighth film in the Saw franchise, and 2019’s X-Men: Dark Phoenix. While Anderson’s character wasn’t confirmed in Deadline’s report, a synopsis would suggest that she can only be playing Mary Shepherd-Sunderland, James’ late wife. Return to Silent Hill will begin filming next month in Germany and Eastern Europe.
“Return to Silent Hill is a mythological love story about someone so deeply in love, they’re willing to go to hell to save someone,” said director Gans. “I’m delighted to have the wonderful talents of both Jeremy Irvine and Hannah Emily Anderson take us on this journey into a psychological horror world that I hope will both satisfy and surprise fans of Silent Hill.”
“Christophe and I have been working closely with our partners at Konami, as they update the video game, to also create a version of Silent Hill for the theatrical audiences of today,” explained producer Hadida. “You will still find the iconic monsters – but there will also be new designs. We are confident that this new film and Konami’s updated game together will propel the franchise forward for years to come.”
From a Deadline report:
Written by Gans, Sandra Vo-Anh (who collaborated with Gans on Beauty and the Beast) and William Josef Schneider, the movie is based on Silent Hill 2, the second and most popular game in Konami’s hit video game series.
The film will follow James (Irvine), a man broken after being separated from his one true love (Anderson). When a mysterious letter calls him back to Silent Hill in search of her, he finds a once-recognizable town transformed by an unknown evil. As James descends deeper into the darkness, he encounters terrifying figures both familiar and new and begins to question his own sanity as he struggles to make sense of reality and hold on long enough to save his lost love.
Pic is being produced by Victor Hadida (producer on The Crow and Silent Hill franchises) under his Davis Films banner, Hassell Free Productions’ Molly Hassell (The Crow) and David Wulf (The Card Counter). As we revealed last year, The Veterans is handling international sales, with CAA Media Financing repping domestic.
