The Purge franchise creator James DeMonaco directed the first three movies in that series, then when he decided to pass the helm over to another director for the fourth film, a prequel called The First Purge, the person chosen for the job was Gerard McMurray, who made his feature directorial debut with the 2017 Netflix drama Burning Sands. Now, The Hollywood Reporter has broken the news that McMurray is currently in production on his first movie since The First Purge was released six years ago: the horror film Goons, which has The Exorcism‘s Chloe Bailey and Power‘s Michael Rainey Jr. in the lead roles.

Filming on Goons is taking place in New Orleans and nearby areas, and the story is said to be set amid the eerie backdrop of the state’s cane fields and plantations. McMurray wrote the script with Hodge K. Johnson, but details on the plot are being kept under wraps.

Tommy Oliver is producing the film through the New Fear Unlocked Productions genre label of his company Confluential Films, which is dedicated to making “bold, elevated, culturally specific horror films from creators of color.” Confluential Films is also fully funding the project.

Oliver provided the following statement: “I can’t wait for audiences to see what Gerard and I are cooking up with the kick-ass squad we’ve assembled. I also couldn’t be more excited to kick off New Fear Unlocked with this film from such a talented director.“

McMurray added: “I’m beyond excited to direct a film in the horror genre. Goons is a love letter to my hometown of New Orleans, and a deeply personal story for me. Producing this film along with Confluential/New Fear Unlocked shows the power of Black storytellers with a collaborative spirit.“

This isn’t the first McMurray project we’ve heard about since the release of The First Purge, as it has previously been reported that he was working on an adaptation of the Black Mask Studios comic book Black, which “takes place in a universe in which only Black people possess superpowers,” for Studio 8 and Warner Bros., and an adaptation of Vault Comics’ post-apocalyptic Resonant for CBS Studios, Scott Free Productions, and BET+.

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