Liam Hemsworth's Action-Horror Thriller 'They Like The Dark' Enters Pre-Production With Scott Free and Gramercy Park Media

Liam Hemsworth is set to star in They Like The Dark, an action-horror-thriller that has entered pre-production with a principal photography target of October 2026 somewhere in the United States. With Scott Free Productions and Gramercy Park Media both producing and Fortitude International already on board for international sales, this is shaping up to be a well-financed, commercially ambitious genre picture with serious pedigree behind it. For crew across the country, that October 2026 cameras-up date means department heads and key crew will likely be fielding calls well before the summer.

Directing is Mike Pecci, a filmmaker who has built a reputation in the horror and genre space through music videos, short films, and commercial work, and who brings an aesthetic sensibility well suited to the dark, kinetic world this story inhabits. The screenplay comes from Will Simmons, and the premise is a sharp one: a half-blind bomb technician wakes up chained in a warehouse with no memory of how he got there, then must use instinct and his service dog to survive what is being described as vampire-like creatures hunting him in the darkness. The production has been pitched comparatively as The Raid meets horror, which signals a tight, pressure-cooker environment with heavy emphasis on physical action, confined locations, and escalating tension. It is a lean, high-concept setup that should attract strong genre audiences if executed well. Liam Hemsworth, best known for his roles in the Hunger Games franchise as Gale Hawthorne and in the ensemble action comedy The Expendables 2, brings genuine leading-man credibility and mainstream recognizability to a film that will need both to cross over from genre fans to broader audiences.

The producing team is anchored by Scott Free Productions, the banner founded by Ridley Scott and Tony Scott that has been responsible for some of the most iconic films and television of the past three decades, including Gladiator, Black Hawk Down, The Martian, and the Emmy-winning limited series Chernobyl. Ridley Scott himself is attached as a producer alongside Scott Free's Michael Pruss and Sam Roston, who have shepherded a range of the company's film and television projects in recent years. Gramercy Park Media, led by Joshua Harris, Nathan Klingher, and Ford Corbett, is providing financing and additional production support. The company has been active in packaging and financing mid-to-upper-tier independent genre and commercial features. On the sales and distribution side, Fortitude International is handling international rights, while CAA Media Finance and UTA Independent Film Group are co-repping domestic distribution, a dual-agency representation setup that typically indicates a project with strong market interest and a deliberate strategy to maximize its distribution deal.

Filming is slated for the United States, though no specific city or state has been confirmed in the available production data. Given the genre, the warehouse-heavy setting, and the compressed, single-location-style story structure, the production could realistically base in any number of major production hubs. States like Georgia, Louisiana, New Mexico, and North Carolina all offer meaningful tax incentive programs that attract mid-budget genre features, and each has stage and warehouse infrastructure well suited to what this script demands. Georgia in particular, with its extensive soundstage inventory and deep local crew base in the Atlanta metro, has become a go-to for exactly this kind of action-horror production. That said, California, with Scott Free's established Los Angeles presence, remains a possibility as well. A specific location announcement is expected as pre-production advances, and crew in any of the major incentive states would be wise to keep this one on their radar now.

The genre blend here carries specific implications for crew. The Raid comparison is not casual: it signals a production that will likely lean hard on a stunt coordinator and fight team, practical in-camera action choreography, and a camera and lighting approach built around darkness, contrast, and claustrophobic framing. The creature elements suggest practical effects and potentially a VFX pipeline running alongside a strong makeup and special effects department. The service dog component will require an experienced animal coordinator. The warehouse setting, described as the primary environment, points toward a production designer and art department who can make a single location feel varied, threatening, and visually dynamic across what is presumably a feature-length runtime. This is very much a genre film built on craft, and department heads with strong horror and action credits will be well positioned.

For full production details including the complete crew list, production office contacts, and scheduling updates as they are confirmed, head to the They Like The Dark listing on ProductionList.com. With October 2026 as the target start date, the production is still in its early staffing phase, but that window will close faster than it looks. If you are a line producer, UPM, or department head looking to get ahead of the curve on a high-profile genre feature with genuine marquee talent and one of the most respected production banners in the business behind it, this is the time to make your interest known. Bookmark the listing now and check back regularly as the production office comes online and the crew build accelerates.

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