Final Destination 6 Hires New Writer To Build Rube Goldberg Death Traps

We haven't heard much about the "Final Destination" franchise, despite learning of a new installment in development last year. The series, already five films and two comic books deep, is getting a fresh new entry, but the last dispatches from production had "Saw" sequel writers Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan attached to pen the screenplay, set within the existing "Destination" universe. It was also purported to focus on first responders who, presumably, are called to a scene that should kill them all, but doesn't after one of them experiences a premonition. A global COVID-19 pandemic further slowed the project, franchise creator Jeffrey Riddick confirmed in November of 2020. "They'll pick it back up once the business starts back up," he tweeted last year.

Deadline provides the next official tidbit by way of another production entirely. In a news article regarding upcoming thriller "Bed Rest," Deadline briefly mentions that the movie's writer and director, Lori Evans Taylor, is "currently writing 'Final Destination 6,'" indicating that Melton and Dunstan are no longer attached. The site further reports Taylor's writing bonafides to include Ben Affleck vehicle "I Am Still Alive," starring and produced by Ben Affleck, and "Small Price To Pay." Her prior production credits focus mostly on television documentaries like "Lucky Dog" and "1000 Ways To Die."

What's Bed Rest About?

In the meantime, "Bed Rest" marks Lori Evans Taylor's directorial debut, and stars Melissa Barrera ("In The Heights," the upcoming "Scream") as a pregnant woman on bed rest orders with a lot of time on her hands -- never a good thing in a horror movie.

Here's the synopsis for "Bed Rest":

After years of struggling to start a family, Julie Rivers (Barrera) is pregnant again and moving into a new home with her husband as they embrace a fresh start. Upon being ordered to mandatory bed rest, Julie begins to slowly unravel as she suffers through the monotony and anxiety of her new constraints. Soon, terrifying ghostly experiences in the home begin to close in on Julie, stirring up her past demons and causing others to question her mental stability. Trapped and forced to face her past and the supernatural, Julie fights to protect herself and her unborn baby.

The movie is being produced by William Sherak, James Vanderbilt, and Paul Neinstein under Project X, along with Evans Taylor and Barrera. Filming begins in Winnipeg in November. "Bed Rest" was recently acquired by STX Films, a distributor specializing in the old school Hollywood model of star-driven projects on medium-range budgets.Through its foreign distro arms, STX will release the film directly across the U.S., the U.K., and Ireland, with global releases to follow. The outfit''s President of Production Sam Brown, tag-teaming with creative executives Marisa Moreno and Alexandria Martin, will be overseeing the feature on the studio's behalf.

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