Bill Hader Wants To Direct And Star In A Horror Movie After Barry, And We're Here For It

With the final season of "Barry" in full swing, series co-creator and star Bill Hader is looking to the future, and in a recent interview with Deadline (via IndieWire), he revealed that his future might feature something totally new: a horror movie with him in the lead role.

Hader actually told the outlet he has three ideas for projects he'd love to get made after "Barry" concludes this summer. Along with the horror feature and a project that he says is "kind of hard to describe," Hader also penned a script with longtime friend and "Barry" writer Duffy Boudreau. Hader called Boudreau his "best friend from Tulsa," and the writer sounds like a particularly grounding presence on set. "We've known each other since we were like 18, so you need that on set," he explained. "You need your friend from Oklahoma who goes, 'Yeah, man. That sucks.'" Along with apparently keeping it real, Hader said Boudreau "has seen as many movies as I have and has read more books than I have, and just acts honestly, but then comes up with great stuff."

The filmmaker said he and Boudreau "wrote a movie that I'd like to make at some point," and pointed out that he'd be following in the footsteps of lots of directors who tend to "try to make a little, small thing" as their first feature. Hader explains that he doesn't plan to appear in either the film he wrote with Boudreau or the project that evades easy explanation, but that he "would star in" the horror film. Details on the project are scarce, though it sounds like it could have a comedy edge to it as well. Hader describes it as "'Barry'-like in tone, but instead of a crime thing, it's like a horror thing."

The "Saturday Night Live" alum instantly impressed audiences with his directorial vision when he first took over behind the camera on "Barry." Hader has been responsible for several of the show's best episodes, including the show's excellent pilot, the relentless one-off "ronny/lily," and a high-octane episode of season 3 that featured a much-lauded motorcycle chase scene. All three episodes earned the filmmaker, who had never directed before "Barry," Emmy nominations. Hader is set to helm all eight episodes of the show's final season, and in his conversation with Deadline, he seemed hesitant to get ahead of himself. "I've done this before, where I've talked about things, and then once it gets out there, you're almost really jinxing it," he said of the projects he alluded to, "So, we'll see."

We'll try not to jinx any of Hader's projects, but it seems to me like, after his visionary work on "Barry" and his tremendous comedic record, the filmmaker should be given carte blanche on whatever he wants to try next. While all three projects are intriguing, a Hader-made horror film in particular seems like a no-brainer. The filmmaker has spoken about the similarities between horror and comedy before, telling /Film that "the biggest thing I think about in comedy and horror is at least for me, you're thinking of the audience," and urging people to watch more classic horror in particular. As he explained, "You're trying to elicit something out of the audience, a scream or a laugh or both."

Hader's upcoming projects still seem to be in the early stages, with no release details available. New episodes of "Barry" air on HBO and stream on HBO Max on Sundays at 10 p.m. ET.