James McAvoy has an upcoming horror movie, Speak No Evil, which is arriving at a perfect time for his career popularity. The 44-year-old actor is set to appear in the film sometime in 2024, which was revealed along with a new trailer at CinemaCon. Unlike many of the private screenings and information shown at the event, Universal Pictures released the trailer for Speak No Evil online, and it looks to be a promising horror film that can show off McAvoy’s talents differently than his previous ventures in the genre.

James McAvoy has appeared in several box office hits, from the Chronicles of Narnia franchise to the X-Men prequel movies. However, in recent years, he hasn’t been on the best streak of his career, with many of his films in the 2020s receiving mixed reviews. Speak No Evil is a remake of a critically acclaimed Danish horror movie from 2022, directed by Christian Tafdrup, and while American remakes of foreign films are often hit or miss, everything about the 2024 horror film looks solid.

After Recent Split Success, James McAvoy Is Set To Star In Another Psychological Thriller

James McAvoy’s Movie Split And Its Sequel Have Recently Trended On Netflix

The film will arrive at the perfect time for McAvoy, as two of his psychological thriller films were recently trending on Netflix. The 2016 horror movie Split and the sequel, Glass, recently had streaming popularity surges, which could benefit Speak No Evil’s popularity, seeing as they’re of a similar genre. Split was a critically acclaimed film, and while Glass had less favorable reviews, it’s redoubtable that McAvoy is excellent in both. Split is even considered among M. Night Shyamalan’s best films.

James McAvoy has played iconic characters like Professor X and Lord Asriel in His Dark Materials, but his best film performance has been as Kevin Wendell Crumb in Split. His character in the Speak No Evil trailer appears far more charming and stable than Crumb, but horror movies have been known to push such characters over the edge. Regardless, McAvoy has a name associated with the genre, similar to Neve Campbell in the Scream franchise or Toni Collette in recent years. That association can’t go understated in its value to marketing a film.

James McAvoy’s Speak No Evil Can Cement Him As A Horror Star

If James McAvoy Continues This Path, He Can Become A Notable Horror Star

James McAvoy may not be considered one of the best horror movie actors just yet, but he’s still young and has plenty of time to pile on to his legacy. So far, his role in Split is his most notable, with a performance that demonstrated a fearsome versatility that few horror films have seen. In 2019, he co-starred in It Chapter Two, playing one of the lead roles in the Stephen King adaptation. With a leading performance in Speak No Evil, he could begin his path to cornering a genre, bringing prestige acting to unique horror films.

Speak No Evil (2024)

Speak No Evil is a 2024 horror-thriller film by writer-director James Watkins. A remake of the 2022 movie Speak No Evil follows a family who head to the country for a much-needed vacation – but the situation quickly deteriorates, thrusting them into a horrific nightmare.

Director

James Watkins

Release Date

August 9, 2024

Writers

James Watkins

Cast

James McAvoy , Mackenzie Davis , Scoot McNairy