Some actors spend years struggling to escape the shadow of that one iconic role that catapulted them to stardom. Harrison Ford is one notable example of a performer who managed to avoid the pitfalls that follow a breakthrough film. At the rate things are going, you may be able to add Daniel Radcliffe to the list.

Earlier this year, Radcliffe followed a full decade of Harry Potter films with a solid performance – and respectable box office take – in The Woman in Black. Now, according to Variety, the actor has just signed to star in director Alexandre Aja’s upcoming supernatural thriller Horns.

Based on the novel by Joe Hill, the story follows a young man (played by Radcliffe) accused of murdering his girlfriend. One morning, he awakens to find that he is growing horns with the power to force people to confess their sins, a gift the character uses to clear his name and solve his girlfriend’s murder.

With Aja at the helm, there’s no telling if the film’s tone will emulate the B-movie mayhem of the director’s Piranha 3-D or the more gritty, violent feel of his The Hills Have Eyes remakes. The premise certainly offers a lot of promise and, with its supernatural elements, sounds like it could make a nice progression for Radcliffe’s career.

daniel-radcliffe-horns

Still, Horns may be a bit too extreme a move for an actor still best known as everyone’s favorite boy wizard. Given its subject matter, it’s likely that the film will be saddled with a hard R, and even The Woman in Black was more focused on atmosphere than violence. Plus, it’s not as if Radcliffe is lacking options, one of which will likely not be the announced sequel to The Woman in Black. He’s already been circling a role as poet Allen Ginsberg in Kill Your Darlings and a British miniseries opposite Jon Hamm. Could Horns be too much too soon when it comes to his transition to more adult roles?

Let us know what you think of Radcliffe’s post-Potter choices. Is his career heading in the right direction?

Horns is scheduled to start shooting this fall. Stay tuned for more details on this project as they emerge.

Source: Variety