Lionsgate has acquired Portrait of God, a horror flick from emerging genre filmmaker Dylan Clark based on his viral short of the same name. With One Battle After Another breakout Chase Infiniti now aboard to star, the project is greenlighted for production.

Portrait comes to Lionsgate after being put in turnaround by Universal, which acquired a spec from Clark in a competitive situation in December 2025, as we first reported. The Lionsgate acquisition is natural, given that they’ve set Clark to make his big studio filmmaking debut with a reimagining of 1999 horror classic The Blair Witch Project, dated for September 24, 202

Portrait of God will mark the first-ever collaboration of producers Sam Raimi and Jordan Peele, two of the biggest names in horror, with Clark directing from a script co-written with Joe Russo (The Inheritance). Involved with the project since it was at Universal, Raimi is presently set to direct an adaptation of the 1978 horror film Magic for Lionsgate as his next project.

While the studio is keeping the plot of the feature take under wraps, Clark’s short revolves around a religious young woman who discovers the disquieting answer to the question, “What does God look like?” Opening with a quote from the Old Testament — “No man shall see Me and live” — it finds Mia sitting in the dark, practicing a slide presentation about a work of art dubbed “Portrait of God.” Some who view the painting perceive it as completely black, she says, while others report seeing a person in the darkness — one who’s been described time and again, in consistent detail.

Minimalistic yet menacing, the short offers a counterpoint to the idea of God as a benevolent entity. It’s accrued over 10 million views on YouTube since its August 2022 debut.

Raimi and Rob Tapert will produce through their Ghost House shingle, as will Jordan Peele and Win Rosenfeld through their Monkeypaw Productions, and Joe Russo (The Inheritance). Romel Adam and Jose Cañas will oversee for Ghost House. On behalf of Monkeypaw, Chris Rosati is exec producing through his first-look deal at shingle NAT20 Films. Scott O’Brien will oversee the project for Lionsgate, which had Dan Freedman negotiated deals on its behalf.

Lionsgate Motion Picture Group chair Adam Fogelson commented, “We’re delighted to deepen our creative partnership with Dylan Clark, whose remarkable talent and distinctive perspective make him one of the most exciting emerging voices in horror. With Sam and Jordan, two of the genre’s most influential producers, the extraordinary Chase Infiniti starring, and Dylan at the helm, this is an exceptional creative team. We believe they have all the ingredients for a film that is haunting, thought-provoking, and scary as hell.”

Like Obsession‘s Curry Barker and Backrooms‘ Kane Parsons, Clark is a young genre filmmaker who came to the industry’s attention after gaining a large following in the YouTube horror space. He stated, “With Blair Witch, I’m experiencing firsthand the trust Lionsgate places in its filmmakers, and I couldn’t be happier that Portrait of God has found a home there as well. I’m also thrilled to welcome Chase Infiniti to our team. She blew me away in One Battle After Another and is one of the most exciting young actors working today.”

Infiniti earned noms at the Actor Awards, Golden Globes and BAFTA Awards for her breakout role opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another. She came to the film after appearing in a major role opposite Jake Gyllenhaal and Ruth Negga in Apple’s hit thriller series Presumed Innocent. Most recently, she’s been seen leading The Testaments, Hulu’s follow-up to hit Margaret Atwood adaptation The Handmaid’s Tale, earning her first Emmy nomination for her work on Season 1. With work on the second season underway, Infiniti will also be seen coming up in The Julia Set, an indie coming-of-age drama from Niki Byrne coming off its premiere at TIFF. She is repped by Gersh and Brillstein Entertainment Partners.

Clark is repped by UTA, 3 Arts Entertainment, and Ginsburg Daniels Kallis; Russo by Fictional Entity, Untitled, and Yorn, Levine, Barnes.

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Nina Gold will be honored with the inaugural Deadline Disruptor Achievement in Casting Award at the Hamptons International Film Festival this weekend.

The new award, presented in partnership with Deadline, recognizes casting professionals whose work has fundamentally reshaped how audiences see performance and storytelling on screen.

Gold has cast over 100 projects in her career, but she’s been especially busy lately, handling one of the most discussed castings in years: the new Bond. Not only that, but she has three projects showing at the 34^th annual Hamptons International Film Festival this year – Mike Leigh’s Tender Loving Care, Anton Corbijn’s A Talent For Murder and Arie Esiri and Chuko Esiri’s Clarissa. Gold has also recently cast Sam Mendes’ quadrant of upcoming Beatles biopics, Slow Horses, Greta Gerwig’s Narnia movie and J.J. Abrams The Great Beyond, to name just a few from the laundry list of her credits this year.

Gold, who was nominated for an Oscar last year for her work on Hamnet, and who won six Emmys for her work on Baby Reindeer, John Adams, Game of Thrones, and The Crown, is being celebrated for casting Tender Loving Care, her ninth collaboration with Leigh. The film stars Widow’s Bay Emmy-winning actress Kate O’Flynn, Alice Bailey Johnson, Marion Bailey and Paul Jesson. It premiered at the Telluride Film Festival and will be released by Bleecker Street on December 4.

A Talent For Murder stars the inimitable Helen Mirren as novelist Patricia Highsmith, alongside Alden Ehrenreich and Olivia Cooke, and Arie Esiri and Chuko Esiri’s Clarissa is based on the Virginia Woolf novel Mrs. Dalloway and stars Sophie Okonedo, David Oyelowo, Ayo Edebiri and Toheeb Jimoh.

“I‘m very grateful to the Hamptons Film Festival for this honor,” Gold said. “I am very happy and lucky to have been able to work on so many wonderful films throughout my career, and it means a great deal to be coming to the festival with Tender Loving Care. I have the greatest pride in the work I have done with Mike Leigh and our collaborations over the last thirty years.”

“Nina Gold is one of the most storied and iconic casting directors working today, and we couldn’t think of a more fitting recipient for the inaugural Deadline Disruptor Achievement in Casting Award,” said David Nugent, chief creative officer of HamptonsFilm. “Her instinct for finding the actor who can bring a character to life has shaped some of the most defining films and television of our time, and her influence on the craft of casting is impossible to overstate. We’re honored to celebrate her extraordinary body of work at this year’s festival.”

Ellie Duque, president of Deadline said, “As the voice of the industry, Deadline is thrilled to honor one of its pillars, Nina Gold, who has shaped and elevated the art of bringing a character to life on screen.”

The 34th edition marks a landmark year for HIFF. The festival will present the U.S. IMAX Premiere of Everest: The Other Side, the first time in HIFF’s history that the festival has presented an IMAX screening. This year’s edition will screen more than 140 films, including 7 feature World Premieres and 8 short film World Premieres. HIFF will also host the U.S. Premiere of Bunker, one of 10 U.S. premieres overall at this year’s edition, and, fresh off Telluride and Venice, will present 15 East Coast Premieres, including Elsinore, Wild Horse Nine and The Liberation. The festival has also announced additional Spotlight selections, including Behemoth!, Josephine, Paper Tiger, Tenzing, Sara Bareilles: Good Grief, The Lightkeeper and more.