Blumhouse Suspends Production on B.J. Novak’s ‘Vengeance’ Over Coronavirus

Blumhouse has suspended production on its thriller “Vengeance,” B.J. Novak’s directorial debut, due to concerns about the coronavirus pandemic.

“Vengeance” had been shooting in Albuquerque, N.M., during the past two weeks. Crew members were informed of the decision on Saturday.

Novak is directing from his own script, and details of project and its logline have been kept under wraps. He’s also starring with Issa Rae, Ashton Kutcher and Boyd Holbrook. Jason Blum is producing under his Blumhouse banner along with Adam Hendricks and Greg Gilteath of Divide/Conquer.

Novak is best known for portraying Ryan Howard character on the NBC sitcom “The Office.” He was also a writer, director, and executive producer on the series.

Blumhouse Productions recently generated a horror hit with “The Invisible Man” and has launched development of an untitled Dracula movie with Karyn Kusama attached to direct. After breaking out as a producer on the original “Paranormal Activity,” Blum’s name has become synonymous with all things horror as the filmmaker launched franchises including “Insidious,” “Sinister,” “Ouija” and “The Purge.” Blum has received nominations for the Academy Award for best picture for producing “Whiplash,” “Get Out,” and “BlacKkKlansman.”

“Vengeance” is the latest feature to be sidelined by the epidemic. Warner Bros. has also suspended shooting of “The Batman” for two weeks, Sony halted “The Man From Toronto” and Universal has suspended production of “Flint Strong” and “Jurassic Park: Dominion.”