Michael Shannon to Star in Contemporary Take on Horror Classic DOCTOR CALIGARI'S CABINET OF WONDERS
The iconic horror classic “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” is getting a contemporary reimagining from the Dowdle Brothers, who have hired Academy Award nominated actor Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road, The Shape of Water), co-star of their Emmy-nominated Waco mini-series, to lead the project.
Doctor Caligari’s Cabinet of Wonders will be directed by John Erick Dowdle (No Escape, As Above So Below) from his own screenplay, alongside his brother and producing partner Drew Dowdle.
The mind-bending psychological horror will star Shannon as the title villain, Doctor Caligari, a traveling mesmerist who journeys from town to town with a sleepwalker under his control, leaving a trail of grisly murders in their wake.
When a young woman’s boyfriend disappears mysteriously, she believes that the enigmatic Caligari is somehow responsible. The problem is — nobody believes her.
Robert Wiene’s original “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari,” a German silent film released in 1920, is widely considered to be the first true horror movie and the most famous example of German Expressionist cinema that heavily influenced the U.S. film noir period of the 1940s and 50s.
Principal photography will begin on the film in June 2026.
via: Variety