Ethan Hawke may not be known for his roles in horror, but his star power shines bright when his films make fans scream. His upcoming role as a mask-clad villain this summer will be no exception. Partnering once again with Blumhouse, Hawke will be acting in one of his most anticipated roles in the past decade, and it's certain to give fans plenty of sleepless nights.

Blumhouse's The Black Phone has been highly anticipated for over a year now. It was supposed to premiere in 2021 but was pushed back due to the pandemic. Perhaps this film will do some good, as it may convince parents to keep their kids indoors. There's a reason why parents tell their kids not to talk to strangers, and Blumhouse intends to remind everyone why.

Here is everything we know about Ethan Hawke’s new movie.

Updated July 2022 by Liz Young: If you're excited about The Black Phone, you'll be happy to know we've updated it with information on when you can stream it at home.

The Black Phone: The Plot

Ethan Hawke as The Grabber in The Black Phone
Universal Pictures

Parents may want to be wary of this film, as it revolves around child abduction and murder, themes sensitive for some. The Black Phone is based on a short story by horror author Joe Hill (author of the NOS4A2 novel and son of Stephen King). The film will follow a 13-year-old boy named Finney Shaw who is abducted and finds himself in the sound-proofed basement of an elusive killer dubbed "The Grabber," an effeminate man with skin as white as paper.

Related: The Black Phone Review: Coming-of-Age Gets Scary in a Great, Violent Thriller

Posing as a magician, The Grabber abducts local children, with his latest victim being a boy named Finney. In the basement with him are a single dirty mattress for him to sleep on and a disconnected rotary phone, possibly left on the wall as a sick way for the Grabber to taunt his victims. This would make it all the more surprising to Finney when the phone rings and the voices of the Grabber's past victims answer. Determined to end the killer's spree, they guide Finney in hatching his escape based on their own failed experiences.

Meanwhile, his sister Gwen begins having visions of Finney in captivity and uses them to try to lead the police to him before he can meet the same fate as the past victims.

The Black Phone: Cast

Mason Thames as Finney in The Black Phone
Universal Pictures

Ethan Hawke's role in the film is already known. His character is fond of wearing terrifying masks and taunting his victims with mind games. Hawke is noted as having a personal rule of never playing villains, but the film's director Scott Derrickson was able to talk him into breaking it. Perhaps this conversation between the two also inspired Hawke to take on a second villain role in the Disney+ Moon Knight series. This would also be the actor's fourth most notable foray into the horror genre, as he had previously starred in films such as The Purge, Sinister, and Daybreakers.

Playing Finney is Mason Thames, whose most notable role is from Apple TV+'s For All Mankind and a small guest role on the CW series Walker. James Ransone plays a character named Max. Fans may recognize him as the grown-up version of Eddie Kaspbrak in IT: Chapter Two and from sharing the screen with Hawke in Sinister and its sequel. Emmy winner Jeremy Davies (Lost, Justified) plays the supporting role of Finney and Gwen's father. Putting an actor of his Davies caliber in such a role may indicate some significance in the film. He can surely bring real depth to the role of a distraught father.

Related: The Black Phone: Why The Grabber is a Modern Classic Horror Movie Villain

Finally, Madeleine McGraw plays Finney's sister Gwen, one of the main focal characters of the film. The young actress has already had quite a few roles in high-profile movies, such as lending her voice in Toy Story 4, Cars 3, and The Mitchells vs. The Machines, as well as a few minor film roles.

Release Date

The film was released theatrically on June 24, 2022, after debuting at Fantastic Fest in 2021. During its opening weekend, it grossed $23.6 million. Under the current Universal distribution deal, the film will be available to stream on Peacock 45 days after its theatrical release, meaning interested parties can watch it from home in early August.

Everything Else We Know

Mason Thames and Madeleine McGraw as Finney and Gwen in The Black Phone
Universal Pictures

Director Scott Derrickson teams with Ethan Hawke once again for what is sure to be a nail-biting, horrifying experience with Jason Blum as producer. The head of Blumhouse Studios touts this as the scariest film he's ever worked on to date. Hawke agrees, telling Slashfilm that he "feel[s] like this script was even better than Sinister, and it's more mature filmmaking." That's saying something, considering a study from 2020 by Broadband Choices named Sinister the scariest film of all time based on average heart rate and spikes in that rate from viewers. It was usurped by Host, the found-footage style film from Shudder, during the 2021 study but still remains in the second position.

Critics have already showered this film with praise, initially earning it a perfect critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, praising Ethan Hawke's and Mason Thames' performances in particular. It currently sits at an 82% critic score, making it Certified Fresh, and an 89% audience score from over 2,500 reviews.