Bold claim: Netflix just snapped up Ian McDonald’s latest thriller pitch after his breakout success with Woman of the Hour, signaling a rising star in the world of high-stakes development.
After the acclaim Dylan McDonald’s Woman of the Hour — a spec he wrote that became Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut and sold in a heated bidding war — landed on Netflix, he has now sold another project: an untitled thriller feature set in the world of cults. The project comes with heavy-hitting producers attached: Academy Award nominees Andrea Berloff and John Gatins, who will produce under their overall deal with Netflix, where they currently have The Last Mrs. Parrish and Fight for ’84 in the works.
McDonald’s latest sale reportedly values the project at around $11 million after its TIFF premiere drew strong critical response. Details on the plot remain under wraps beyond the cult-centric setting. As with Woman of the Hour, the new thriller is being developed with significant industry support, signaling Netflix’s continued appetite for gripping, character-driven suspense.
Berloff and Gatins bring notable awards pedigree to the project. Berloff earned an Oscar nomination for writing Straight Outta Compton, while Gatins earned one for Flight. Their recent collaboration includes The Last Mrs. Parrish, adapted from Liv Constantine’s crime thriller and directed by Robert Zemeckis with Jennifer Lopez starring. The film follows a con artist who targets a wealthy couple and attempts to become the next Mrs. Parrish, only to confront a far more tangled truth. In addition, the pair co-wrote Fight for ’84 with Jamie Foxx, a story about rebuilding the U.S. Olympic Boxing Team after a devastating accident.
Berloff remains actively involved with Netflix, contributing as a co-writer on the popular action thriller The Mother starring Jennifer Lopez. She is represented by CAA, Entertainment 360, and McKuin Frankel Whitehead. Gatins’ résumé includes work on Real Steel, Kong: Skull Island, and Coach Carter, and he is represented by UTA and Felker Toczek Suddleson.
This development underscores Netflix’s ongoing strategy of pairing strong storytelling with experienced producing teams, pushing into more complex, serialized, or feature-driven thrillers that explore dark or controversial subjects within subcultures. As more details surface, industry observers will watch to see how this untitled project differentiates itself in a crowded market and whether McDonald’s fresh concept could become the next big Netflix hit.
