Exclusive: PARANORMAL ACTIVITY Director Teases What’s Next, Would Be ‘In’ for M3GAN Adaptation

Paranormal Activity director Felix Barrett is eager to see more horror stories on Broadway. 

“I think we’ve only scratched the surface of what’s possible,” Barrett exclusively tells BroadwayWorld. “We’ve learned so much along the way of how you could do other things.” 

At Broadway’s August Wilson Theatre, Levi Holloway’s Paranormal Activity — based on the film series of the same name — is making audiences scream so much, its limited engagement has now been extended by an additional eight weeks. 

When asked if he’s already thinking of other horror projects to bring to the stage, Barrett says “there are” things on his mind, adding that he can’t give away too much information now since “it feels like we’re in this sort of wrangling process of, ‘What do we do next?’” 

“Now that we’ve managed to finally bring our beloved show to Broadway, what’s the next one? So the answer is yes, but if I told you, I’d have to kill you,” Barrett says with a laugh. 

As BroadwayWorld previously reported, there has been talk of a stage adaptation of the horror franchise M3GAN. 

Jason Blum — the producer of the 2022 sci-fi horror film M3GAN and its 2025 sequel M3GAN 2.0 — told New York Magazine’s Vulture in an interview published September 3 there is absolutely a possibility the child-sized humanoid AI robot doll could make her way to Broadway. 

“I think it was almost a joke that is now taking on a life of its own,” Barrett tells BroadwayWorld. “If he calls me and says, ‘Felix, you want to direct it?,’ I am in.”

M3GAN, which starred Allison Williams and Violet McGraw, is about a humanoid robot doll who becomes so protective over 8-year-old Cady that she will go to great lengths to ensure that no one is a threat. The destructive and dangerous AMELIA is introduced in the sequel. 

“I really believe that the idea of being frightened at something live is electric. It makes you feel alive,” Barrett told BroadwayWorld in an article spotlighting the horror and thriller shows on New York City stages this season. 

“I’ve always been trying to do it, but when Paranormal Activity came along, it was the first time I was explicitly allowed to do horror and do something that’s main objective was to be frightening,” he said. 

Barrett said it’s “amazing” to see audiences respond to the scares that take place nightly at Paranormal Activity, adding: “Seeing an audience stumble out into the New York night with smiles on their faces, I think that’s all you want from a night at the theater, isn’t it?”