EXCLUSIVE: Gary Dauberman‘s Coin Operated has secured the rights to Robert R. McCammon’s horror short story Yellowjacket Summer as part of its discretionary fund, enlisting Pulitzer Prize-winner and New York Times bestselling author Daniel Kraus to adapt the screenplay for a feature adaptation.
First published in the October 1986 issue of Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone Magazine, McCammon’s story follows a mother and her children who become stranded in a dying Georgia town overrun by yellowjackets, uncovering an evil from within the swarm that will do anything to protect the hive.
Set to produce the film alongside Mia Maniscalco via Coin Operated, Dauberman told Deadline, “Yellowjacket Summer immediately stood out among the many masterpieces of horror Robert McCammon has written. And there’s no one better suited to the task of adapting it for the big screen than Daniel Kraus, whose work so often combines uniquely horrific concepts with timeless, grounded characters. Together, it has the makings of a creature feature that stings both viscerally and emotionally.”
Kraus said, “Robert R. McCammon is a legend in horror, and I’m honored to adapt one of his best stories – a creature feature with a dash of Tennessee Williams. My goal, which is shared by Gary and Mia, is to make something scary, yes, but also poignant and heartbreaking. It’s a fascinating challenge.”
Kraus recently won a Pulitzer Prize for his novel Angel Down, a national bestseller that was named a New York Times Top 10 Book of 2025. Whalefall, 20th Century Studios’ adaptation of his award-winning survival thriller novel about a scuba diver swallowed by a sperm whale, releases in theaters on October 16.
With Guillermo del Toro, Kraus co-authored The Shape of Water, based on an idea the two created for the Oscar-winning film. Also with Del Toro, he co-authored Trollhunters, which was adapted into the Emmy-winning Netflix series. Also the recipient of the Bram Stoker Award, Scribe Award, two Odyssey Awards, and other major accolades, Kraus is repped by 3 Arts Entertainment.
Under a production deal with Sony/Screen Gems, Dauberman’s Coin Operated is coming off Paramount’s release of Passenger, its supernatural horror film directed by André Øvredal and starring Melissa Leo, Lou Lloubell and Jacob Scipio. Among the company’s upcoming projects is the Santiago Menghini-helmed The Revenge of La Llorona, a New Line title releasing in 2027.
Coin Operated’s development slate includes Urban Legend, a modern reboot of Screen Gems’ 1990s slasher; The Medium, based on the award-winning horror-themed video game; an adaptation of Joe Hill’s short story “Ushers” for Screen Gems; He Never Dies, written and to be directed by David Yarovesky; and a Nat Cassidy-penned adaptation of his novella Rest Stop.
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