Lovecraft Country’s Misha Green Makes Her Feature Directorial Debut In Upcoming Thriller, Sunflower

Misha Green teams up with frequent collaborator Jurnee Smollett in her upcoming feature directorial debut, Sunflower.

Warner Bros. Television Distribution

Although Misha Green is most known for her supernatural horror series Lovecraft Country, she has been a powerhouse within the television sector for over a decade. Initially, Green got her start as a staff writer on several prominent series, such as Sons of Anarchy and Heroes, before her transition to showrunning with the WGN hit period drama Underground. Her evolution as a director-writer continues with her upcoming project Sunflower. The suspenseful thriller marks Green’s feature directorial debut, and, according to Deadline, her frequent collaborator Jurnee Smollett is onboard to star in the film.

Sunflower is currently in development for Lionsgate based on a script first penned by Green in 2008. The film revolves around two women struggling to escape from a deranged college professor who holds them hostage on a remote sunflower farm. In addition to being the director and writer of Sunflower, Green is producing the film alongside Craig J. Flores and his Bread and Circuses Entertainment banner.

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Sunflower is Green and Smollett’s third project together. The duo’s natural chemistry should translate on screen once more in the upcoming thriller. They have a proven track record of bringing forth successful projects that transcend their genre, becoming a harbinger of innovation and an example of cultural and societal examination. Underground received immense praise for its storytelling — a slave narrative that breaks the genre’s mold in its reimagination — and cast performances. HBO’s Lovecraft Country also received acclamatory status, which earned the series more than a handful of nominations in the 2021 awards circuit — including a whopping 18 Emmy nominations — and a loyal fanbase still hoping to receive the subsequent already-planned Lovecraft Country seasons.

Lionsgate Motion Picture Group President, Nathan Kahane, conveyed the studio’s excitement to have Green and Smollett onboard for Sunflower in a recent statement.

“Everyone at our studio was completely drawn in by the way Misha, Jurnee, and the ‘Lovecraft Country’ team worked so confidently to create a compelling genre series – then subverted the genre and reinvented it through a new lens. That’s the opportunity with Sunflower. The screenplay is unique, thrilling, and flat-out scary. It’s going to make a hell of a movie.”

The studio is aiming to begin production this upcoming summer. Further casting and plot details are to come in the following months.

Related: Lovecraft Country: Why There Should be a Second Season

Sunflower Has Been More Than a Decade In the Making

Lionsgate

Misha Green’s highly revered Sunflower made The Black List in 2008 and quickly became a sought-after screenplay for development. After initial rumors of Wes Craven scooping the thriller in 2010 were quelled, it was announced that Ben Stiller was on board to produce the project with Stuart Cornfield. The pair were set to produce Sunflower through their company Red Hour Productions for 20th Century Fox in 2012. Unfortunately, the project fell through, but her talent as a writer was undeniable, which helped her land staff writer positions on various series in the early 2010s. After several false starts, Green finally has the opportunity to bring her screenplay to life — one that helped propel her career forward in the industry.

Green spoke on the full circle moment with Deadline in a recent statement.

“Sunflower was the first script I sold when I landed in Hollywood, and now having the opportunity to make it my first feature directorial outing feels like kismet. I couldn’t have hoped for better partners and collaborators than Nathan, the Lionsgate team, Craig, and Jurnee to help me shepherd it to the big screen.”

Green’s first foray into features will be the upcoming action drama, The Mother. She co-wrote the screenplay alongside Andrea Berloff and Peter Craig, and the film is set to release on Netflix on May 12.

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