Harry Potter Director Officially Confirms Next Horror Movie 8 Years After Oscar Win

Alfonso Cuarón, who helmed films like Children of Men and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, has finally revealed what he is working on next. While he made the Apple TV+ series Disclaimer, he has not made a feature film since 2018’s Roma, which won him Best Director, Best Foreign Language Film, and Best Cinematography Oscars. 

Talking about his next film at the Busan International Film Festival, Cuarón said (via Dipe),

I am writing a horror story, carefully and slowly. It is very interesting.

Cuarón has been vocal about his love for horror, and it can be seen in his previous films, where he used elements of the genre to best tell his drama stories. However, a straight-up horror film, especially when the genre is thriving, is a welcome change from the legendary filmmaker.

Alfonso Cuarón Proved His Horror Sensibilities with Harry Potter

Dementors in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban | Credits: Warner Bros.

Alfonso Cuarón has never made a straight horror film. He has tackled various genres throughout his filmography: a post-apocalyptic drama, a space thriller, a romantic saga, and a true-to-life period drama, to name a few. Many of his films have used elements of horror, though, in their storytelling techniques and to give a sense of dread to the audience.

Cuarón is responsible for the Harry Potter franchise turning darker with Prisoner of Azkaban, which not only explored Harry’s parents’ tragic death and betrayal by their friend, but also depression and mental health. The Dementors, even in JK Rowlings’ novels, are happiness-sucking prison guards, and the way Cuarón treats them is straight out of a horror film.

Even his other films, like Children of Men and Gravity, have similar treatments. Space, in the latter movie, is seen as this empty, horrific entity which swallows Sandra Bullock’s character as she makes her way back home. The whole world-building and the iconic 36-degree scene from Children of Men is a post-apocalyptic slasher setting.

So, it makes total sense for the filmmaker to tackle a straight horror film next as he moves forward in his career. It is a genre that one does not have to spend a lot on in terms of budget and production, but with great storytelling, it can elevate the experience. Just this year alone, we saw indie films like Obsession and Iron Lung win big at the box office.

Oscar Winner Cuarón is the Next Auteur to Tackle Horror

Alfonso Cuarón | Credits: YouTube/Locarno Film Festival

Alfonso Cuarón has been vocal about his love for the genre and expressed back in 2024 at the Locarno Film Festival that his aspiration was to do a horror film. He said (via Deadline),

My aspiration is to one day do a horror film…I love Rosemary’s Baby, and the other Polanski films, and films like The Babadook. They’re so grounded in reality and in character, so I love those. As a spectator, I have a wider taste, but anything I feel I could do would need to be more grounded. I’ve been trying to write something like that, but somehow, it doesn’t fully work.

Now, the filmmaker finally seems to have cracked the storyline and is steadily working on the project. It might be a few years till we see this project, but there is hope that the four-time Oscar-winning director of Roma will return to the director’s chair with a horror film.

He is not the only auteur to be interested in the genre. Christopher Nolan has been talking about pursuing a horror project multiple times in the past, and the Cyclops sequence in The Odyssey got many fans excited for a true-blue horror project from the director. Even the Coen Brothers had teased that they would get back with a bloody flick (via Montages).

With the success of Obsession, Backrooms, Resident Evil, and more horror films, filmmakers seem to be interested in trying out the craft themselves. The genre gives ample avenues to play around with sound, visuals, and music, making it an interesting playground for auteur filmmakers. It will be great to see Alfonso Cuarón tackle the genre.

Which is your favourite Alfonso Cuarón movie? Comment below.