Kyrie Irving‘s first feature-length film, Uncle Drew, was essentially a Pepsi ad that became a movie. So perhaps it’s fitting that his second will be an oral history turned into a horror movie.
The Boston Celtics star is getting back into acting, and apparently his second starring role will also include a hoops element. Variety reported on Monday that Irving has signed on to an untitled project about the famed haunted hotel in Oklahoma City that NBA teams somewhat regularly stay in.
Imagine Entertainment has preemptively optioned an upcoming Players’ Tribune article, an oral history of experiences from NBA stars who have stayed at the Skirvin Hotel in Oklahoma City. The hotel is frequented by traveling NBA teams, but some players refuse to stay there because of its reputation. The hotel was opened in 1911 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Irving told Variety that he has his own history with the hotel, which is why he was interested in the project.
“Having had my own interesting experiences at the Skirvin Hotel, I connected with this idea immediately,” said Irving.
The news may spoil the surprise of the upcoming Players’ Tribune post, but it seems to be an open secret in the NBA that the hotel has had some weird dealings in it. And, perhaps unsurprisingly, the movie will try to do a lot more than just scare people.
The project is being developed as a horror film blending scares, satire, wit and social commentary inspired by the folklore of the Skirvin Hotel. The hauntings are believed to have started in the 1930s when the hotel’s owner had an affair with a chambermaid which led to her tragic demise.
In the last few years we’ve seen the horror genre make hugely successful movies that explore true social commentary, such as Get Out and the upcoming Us from Jordan Peele. If this untitled work is something similar, it would certainly be an interesting movie. And given the source material, it might have more than just one basketball player involved.
