It Producer Making A MoMo Movie

It and It Chapter Two producer Roy Lee is developing a horror film based on the sculpture by artist Keisuke Aiso which inspired the “Momo challenge” urban legend, EW has confirmed.

Earlier this year, media around the globe picked up the story of the Momo Challenge, which centered on a mysterious figure represented by a goggle-eyed character, who was allegedly encouraging children to harm themselves. This supposed threat was discovered to be a hoax, which utilized Aiso’s sculpture, itself based on a supernatural creature found in Japanese and Chinese folklore.

Using a mask he had purchased in Mexico, Keisuke Aisawa (who is also sometimes referred to as Keisuke Aiso) of the special effects company Link Factory created a sculpture of a bird-like woman inspired by a creature from Japanese and Chinese folklore. When images of his sculpture made their way online it became the face of an internet hoax called the Momo Challenge, which said 

children and adolescents were being enticed by a user named Momo to perform a series of dangerous tasks including violent attacks, self-harm and suicide.

Aisawa had thrown the crumbling sculpture away by the time the Momo Challenge took off, and he was surprised to see his work being used as part of this hoax. He assured the children of the world that, “Momo is dead – she doesn’t exist and the curse is gone.”

But not so fast. The entertainment industry hadn’t had their chance to profit off of this viral story by the time Aisawa made that statement. One Momo movie, GETAWAY, has already gone into production, and now Orion Pictures is teaming with IT producer Roy Lee’s Vertigo Entertainment and Taka Ichise to make another Momo film.

Lee’s Vertigo Entertainment has partnered with Taka Ichise and Orion Pictures to develop and produce the horror film. Lee and Ichise previously collaborated on the American franchises The Grudge and The Ring, both of which were based on Japanese properties. Orion Pictures oversaw the recent remake of Child’s Play.