James Franco To Produce New Thriller 'The Killer Next Door' with Ahna O'Reilly

He's not just a funny man anymore! James Franco plans on producing an upcoming murder mystery film called The Killer Next Door alongside Ahna O'Reilly (The Help and Forgetting Sarah Marshall), who will also star. It's the adaptation of Alex Marwood's novel of the same name. Variety says, "The deal for The Killer Next Door was made by Meg Davis of the Ki Agency, in association with William Morris Endeavor, on behalf of Laetitia Rutherford of Watson, Little." After receiving the Edgar Award for his first novel, Wicked Girls, it seems like this could be a very positive decision on Franco's part.

Franco most recently starred and was executive producer for The Interview, released by Sony, and The Sound and the Fury, which he directed and starred in screened at Sundace this past January. Variety reports, "Franco directed and produced a pair of indie dramas this year — In Dubious Battle, based on John Steinbeck's 1936 novel, with a cast that includes Franco, Selena Gomez, Robert Duvall, Ed Harris and Bryan Cranston; and The Long Home, based on William Gay's coming-of-age story set in 1940s rural Tennessee, starring Franco, Josh Hutcherson and Zoe Levin." O'Reilly starred in In Dubious Battle alongside Franco and I Am Michael, which was produced by Franco and directed by Justin Kelly.

The Killer Next Door follows six neighbors who have to band together in order to survive, but what they don't know is that a killer walks amongst them and will do anything to remain anonymous. The story will be tension-filled and this will be a new genre for Franco and an exciting challenge.

Franco has really come a long way since his mere comedic "bro-mance" films and has stepped up to become a man of many talents. We think it is safe to say that we will be seeing so much more from him, not only as an actor but as a director and producer. Just to prove his versatility, he lent his voice to another upcoming animated film, The Little Prince. See the trailer below.