Earlier this month, we reported the news that Paramount Pictures had poached director Kevin Greutert to helm its planned sequel to Paranormal Activity, which it had scheduled against Lionsgate's next Saw sequel this October. Greutert is a veteran of the Saw franchise, and directed the last instalment, Saw VI.

One of the reasons why the last Saw movie underperfomed - and let's face it, we can think of a few - was that Paranormal Activity ate up lots of its business around the same time. Paramount, therefore, knew what it was doing scheduling Paranormal Activity 2 against Saw VII this coming October, as it tried to position its new franchise (even though, realistically, we wish it wouldn't turn it into a franchise) into a presumably hopefully-annual cash-generating slot. It's worked for the Saw franchise for years, after all.

However, a spanner has now been thrown in the works. According to Deadline Hollywood, Lionsgate hasn't taken the poaching of Kevin Greutert particularly well, and has now exercised an option it held with the director and put him at the helm of Saw 7/Saw 3D/Whatever they call this one. It's a bold move: you'd have to imagine that Greutert isn't best pleased with the news, and Lionsgate potentially has a director on its key franchise who doesn't want to be there any more. We can't speak for Greutert, obviously, but we can't imagine we'd be too happy were we in his shoes.

It also leaves Paramount needing to recruit a director urgently if it's going to get Paranormal Activity 2 into cinemas for October. The director of the original, Oren Peli, presumably remains an option, but he had a good year or two to shape the first film into the end product that stormed the box office last year. Would he really want the potential poisoned chalice of a quick, production line sequel?

He's currently in post-production on his next film, Area 51, which he'd need to wrap up quickly were he tempted back. But we sorely hope he resists the call. And in an ideal world, the mere idea of a Paranormal Activity 2 would be gently put to bed.

Sadly, it's not an ideal world...

Deadline Hollywood