Rumor: Slender Man Movie In The Works At Screen Gems?

A Slender Man movie was only a matter of time. What started as a fun game of Photoshopping has now led to a potential film. The mysterious and haunting figure started out in 2009 as a hit internet meme. Now, Screen Gems sees money to be made with the character, and they're possibly eying a 2017 release date for the project.

Learn more about Slender Man below.

This report comes courtesy of Comic Book.com. The outlet says the project already has a script from David Birke, who wrote Paul Verhoeven's upcoming film, Elle, and 13 Sins, and that the plan is to start shooting later this year for a 2017 release date. The outlet offers up no further details, but a Slender Man movie certainly sounds like a project Screen Gems would make, so maybe there is some truth to this rumor.

Slender Man originated on a forum. Something Awful user Victor Surge took part in a thread asking for "paranormal images through Photoshop." Surge posted two photos of Slender Man, along with this text:

We didn't want to go, we didn't want to kill them, but its persistent silence and outstretched arms horrified and comforted us at the same time . . . 1983, photographer unknown, presumed dead.

One of two recovered photographs from the Stirling City Library blaze. Notable for being taken the day which fourteen children vanished and for what is referred to as "The Slender Man". Deformities cited as film defects by officials. Fire at library occurred one week later. Actual photograph confiscated as evidence. – 1986, photographer: Mary Thomas, missing since June 13th, 1986.

Surge and Something Awful's users continued to build the mythos around Slender Man, posting other images, stories of the character's past, and more. Surge, understandably, did not imagine his initial posts would lead to a miniseries based on the character, fan art, and everything else that followed. What exactly the tall, faceless character is capable of is a bit muddled, since there are all sorts of stories about the figure online, but he's mostly known for preying on children.

Of course, you can't write about Slender Man without mentioning the terrible incident in Waukesha County, Wisconsin. In 2014, two 12-year-old girls attempted to murder a friend of theirs, because, as they claimed at the time, they wanted to pay "homage" to Slender Man, who they thought was real. The victim survived the 19 stab wounds, and the two perpetrators will appear in court again this July.

Would what happened in Waukesha County make a Slender Man movie seem a little in poor taste? I imagine some people will claim it does, but, considering the rumored fall shooting date, we'll see if there's any truth to this story soon.