Anything But Ghosts: Curry Barker Confirms Next Movie Is Set in Obsession Universe

Filmmaker Curry Barker may have wrapped up the story of Obsession, but he is not quite done with its world, as his next film, Anything But Ghosts, will contain a direct reference to the aftermath of Obsession. Thus, the movies essentially belong to one and the same universe.

According to the filmmaker, the film relates to Obsession in terms of a news story about the aftermath of the events depicted in Obsession. He said at a post-screen interaction (via Deadline):

There’s like a news article thing on the next movie where you hear a news anchor talking about a triple homicide [by] a woman.

While the reference appears to be brief, it officially establishes that both films share the same continuity.

But first, here’s everything we know about Anything But Ghosts so far in brief:

Catgeory	Details
Title	Anything But Ghosts
Director	Curry Barker
Genre	Supernatural horror
Premise	Follows a group of fake paranormal investigators who encounter a real supernatural threat
Cast	Aaron Paul, Bryce Dallas Howard, Cooper Tomlinson, Violet McGraw
Release Date	Not yet announced

What the Obsession Connection Means for Anything But Ghosts

At the end of Obsession, Bear learns that the only way to break the One Wish Willow curse is for the person who made the original wish to die. With Nikki fully consumed by the supernatural force and Sarah and Ian already dead, Bear sacrifices himself by taking a large number of pills. His death finally breaks the curse. Nikki is freed from its influence, but it leaves her to confront the horrifying reality of everything she did while possessed.

And that aftermath is what the news report in Anything But Ghosts will reference. The decision to build a vague connection in this manner instead of a returning character or sequel storyline is significant. This approach seems more akin to James Wan‘s The Conjuring Universe, where multiple franchises (The Conjuring, Annabelle, and The Nun) operated under the same umbrella — and not MCU or DCU, where events closely follow each other to set up in a titanic confrontation.

What We Know About Anything But Ghosts’ Plot So Far

While Obsession was a psychological horror film, Anything But Ghosts takes a different approach. The upcoming movie follows a group of fraudulent paranormal investigators who make a living staging supernatural encounters. Their plans take an unexpected turn when they come across an actual ghost, forcing them to deal with a situation that is far beyond their control.

Although many story details remain under wraps, the film appears to be less focused on psychological terror and more interested in supernatural mayhem. That tonal shift could help distinguish his new movie from Obsession and allow Barker to tell a fresh new story.

Who Is in the Cast of Anything But Ghosts?

Its cast is one of the movie’s biggest talking points. The cast features Aaron Paul, Bryce Dallas Howard, Cooper Tomlinson, and Violet McGraw in major roles. The cast announcement generated considerable attention when the film was first revealed earlier this year. 

Paul is, of course, best known for his Emmy-winning performance in the TV show Breaking Bad. Howard is known for major franchises like Jurassic World. McGraw cut her teeth on the two M3GAN movies as well as Netflix’s The Haunting of Hill House, created by Mike Flanagan. Tomlinson has been a longtime collaborator of Barker.

Does Anything But Ghosts Have a Release Date?

Sadly, no, not yet. But we may hear something interesting soon, as the film has wrapped filming (via The Hollywood Reporter). Obsession, meanwhile, has had a stunning box office success — $95.8 million per Box Office Mojo (as of May 29, 2025) — on a $750,000 budget, per Barker (via New Yorker). Interestingly, there are a few movies like Obsession that made a similar Box Office return on investment, and many of those are horror movies.

​Also, Barker’s comments about the interconnectivity between his new movie and Obsession have given the latter’s fans another reason to wait for the former. Even if the connection is thin, it is there, and it opens possibilities about bigger connections in future projects.

What do you think about Curry Barker’s decision to connect Anything But Ghosts to Obsession? Are you excited to see more stories set in the same universe? Let us know in the comments below.

Obsession was released in US theaters on May 15, 2026.