The producer behind Barbarian, Late Night with the Devil, and It is teaming with the editor of Preacher and Hellraiser to create the future of horror

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The production company behind some of the best horror movies of the last few years is looking somewhere new for the next generation of scary stories: Artists Writers & Artisans, the comic book company led by former Marvel editor-in-chief Axel Alonso.

AWA has announced a new partnership with Roy Lee — who’s produced movies like Barbarian, It, Late Night with the Devil, and The Grudge, with the much-anticipated Weapons currently in the works — and his Vertigo Entertainment shingle, which will see the company publish a comic book version of the story while Vertigo and AWA Studios, the film and TV division of the company, collaborate on bringing the story to the screen.

In a statement, Lee said that he is “constantly looking for new stories that bring dread and surprise to push the genre forward in daring, unexpected ways,” adding, “I’ve been inspired by the titles AWA has published over the last few years. This dynamic partnership will allow us to work with distinct voices to develop all-new terrifying ideas and bring something to the horror world we haven’t seen before.”

Alonso, who co-founded AWA in 2018, added, “This groundbreaking partnership provides a mechanism to break bold new stories across numerous media platforms.  We’re thrilled and honored to be working alongside a horror genius like Roy Lee, who has had a hand in some of the most iconic horror franchises in the world. This new partnership will allow us to combine Vertigo Entertainment’s innovative spark with a group of creators who truly push the boundaries of the horror genre.”

For longtime comic book fans, there’s a small irony to the new deal that sees him working so closely with Vertigo Entertainment. After all, before Alonso was at Marvel, he was a leading light at DC’s mature readers imprint of the time… which was called Vertigo. (That gig demonstrated that he knows horror, if nothing else; he edited Preacher and Hellblazer back then...) The more things change…

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