The Man in My Basement

The Man In My Basement is an upcoming horror-thriller film^[1][2] directed and co-written by Nadia Latif (in her feature directorial debut), and based on the novel of the same name by Walter Mosley, who co-wrote the screenplay. It stars Corey Hawkins, Willem Dafoe, Anna Diop and Tamara Lawrance.

The Man in My Basement
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Directed by	Nadia Latif
Written by	Walter Mosley Nadia Latif
Based on	The Man In My Basement by Walter Mosley
Produced by	Diane Houslin John Giwa-Amu Dave Bishop Len Rowles
Starring	Corey Hawkins Willem Dafoe Anna Diop Tamara Lawrance
Cinematography	Ula Pontikos
Edited by	Mark Towns
Music by	Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe
Production companies	Andscape B.O.B. Filmhouse Good Gate Media Protagonist Pictures
Distributed by	Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Release dates	September 2025 (2025-09) (TIFF) September 12, 2025 (2025-09-12) (United States)
Countries	United States United Kingdom
Language	English

The film is slated to premiere in the Discovery titles at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival, and is scheduled to be released in select theaters on September 12, 2025^[3][4]

Plot

Charles Blakey, an African American man living in Sag Harbor, is stuck in a rut, out of luck, and about to lose his ancestral home when a peculiar white businessman with a European accent offers to rent his basement for the summer.

Cast

• Corey Hawkins as Charles Blakey
• Willem Dafoe as Anniston Bennet
• Anna Diop as Narciss Gully
• Tamara Lawrance as Bethany

Production

In March 2022, it was announced that an adaptation of the novel by Walter Mosley titled The Man In My Basement was in development, with Nadia Latif making her directorial debut as well as writing the screenplay. Jonathan Majors had been cast as Charles Blakey and that he would also serve as an executive producer.^[5] In August 2022, Willem Dafoe joined the cast of the film portraying Anniston Bennet.^[6]

In 2023, following Majors's arrest in March 2023 and subsequent assault allegations, he was fired from the film.^[7] In January 2024, Corey Hawkins was cast to replace Majors.^[8] In February, Anna Diop joined the cast of the film playing Narciss Gully.^[9]

Filming

Principal photography began on January 30, 2024, in Cardiff, Wales.^[10]