Afterlife (film)

Afterlife is a 2029 comedy horror action thriller film directed by Andy Muschietti and written by Vivienne Medrano. Produced by 21 Laps Entertainment and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing, the film stars Henry Cavill and Emma Stone in the lead roles, while Michael Douglas, Boyd Holbrook, Robin Wright, Corey Hawkins, Wes Bentley, Isla Fisher, Fred Armisen, Aaron Paul, and James Spader play supporting roles. The film follows a fallen angel named Xerous escaping from hell into Earth where she meets Rose, a human girl from a prominent family.

Plot
(Coming soon)

Cast

 * Henry Cavill as Xerous
 * Emma Stone as Rose
 * Michael Douglas as Thegmadak
 * Boyd Holbrook as Leo
 * Robin Wright as Rose's mother
 * Corey Hawkins as Sheriff Kane
 * Wes Bentley as Trazomon
 * Isla Fisher as Azrun
 * Fred Armisen as Olmoth
 * Aaron Paul as Sar'gonis
 * James Spader as Rose's father

Development
While making Hazbin Hotel, Medrano had developed a spec script called Beyond Puragatory. She was hoping that it would develop into an animated movie, like Nerdland. In an interview with Collider, Medrano said it was a mixture of The Conjuring and Predator. However, the project never materialized, as she was busy making Helluva Boss, another animated series she had been working on at the time. Later, the script then got the attention of filmmaker Shawn Levy, and planned to option to make the script into a movie, which also got them a distribution deal with Sony Pictures. For the director role, they planned on having Christopher Landon direct the movie based on his previous films like Happy Death Day and Freaky. Landon, however, declined the offer, saying it was "too complicated". Medrano and Wan would later offer the director role to Andy Muschietti, and he accepted it in July 2024.

Casting
For the character of Xerous, they wanted Shia LaBeouf to play the main role, but it was later given to Henry Cavill in October. In February 2025, Emma Stone was cast as Sara, his human love interest. In April, James Spader was announced to join the cast. Susan Sarandon joined, but dropped out shortly after. Robin Wright was cast in her place. In May, Boyd Holbrook, Corey Hawkins, and Isla Fisher joined. Later, Aaron Paul was cast as Sar'gonis, a bounty hunter hired to kill Xerous. In August, Wes Bentley and Fred Armisen had roles as a gay couple who is supposed to be the most horniest couple in hell. In September, Michael Douglas was announced to be joining the cast as the king of all demons.

Filming
Principal photography began in North Carolina in February 2026. Many houses were built by production designer Jeffrey Beecroft for the fake town of Whiteridge, Oregon. A lair, made for Xerous, was built on a sound stage in Pinewood Studios, made out of bones. It ended in August that year.

Visual effects
Visual effects were provided by Rising Sun Pictures, Framestore, and Weta Digital. Greg Nicotero and Howard Berger mostly did all the practical work for the film.