Billie Piper lands next movie role in "deeply unsettling" Wales-set supernatural horror

Billie Piper has landed her next role in a "deeply unsettling" supernatural horror set in Wales. Sketchbook stars Piper and Woody Norman (Cobweb) as a mother and son reunited after years apart in foster care.

As he struggles to find his place back home, he is introduced to a cursed sketchbook that makes anything drawn in it come to life, which he uses to fulfill every desire - from friendship to belonging.

However, when the drawings become darker, he discovers that something inside the book is actually using him for its own nefarious purposes.

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Production is set to begin in Wales in early 2027. No release date has been confirmed yet.

Sketchbook is being directed by Obey's Jamie Jones, who described his intention to create horror "that feels immediate, grounded and impossible to escape" as the main character is drawn in by an irresistible object.

"The book starts as something exciting and irresistible, but also serves as a metaphor for bullying – the fantasy of turning the tables on your tormentor," he said (via Screen Daily).

"As curiosity becomes obsession, the desire for revenge unleashes terrifying consequences. For me, realism starts with performance. As I did on Obey, I’ll work closely with young actors to create authentic relationships and group dynamics, grounding the horror in relationships and behaviour that feel completely real."

Meanwhile, Electric Shadow's Jay Taylor, who is co-producing the film alongside Whiplash producer David Lancaster and Wales-based producer Adam Knopf, described Sketchbook as "exactly the kind of bold, distinctive filmmaking we want to champion".

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"Jamie has created a cinematic fable that takes the universal experience of wanting to belong and twists it into something deeply unsettling. The casting of Billie Piper and Woody Norman combined with the exceptional producing talents of David Lancaster and Adam Knopf, against an evocative Welsh setting, will add a dynamism and theatricality, which will thrill international audiences." he said.

Lancaster called Jones an "incredibly exciting storyteller" who has "the unique ability to access something deeply human beneath the horror", adding: "Sketchbook taps into the adolescent experience in a profoundly moving yet unnerving way."

Piper's latest movie role was in Elsinore alongside Andrew Scott and Olivia Colman. Meanwhile, Norman recently starred as Richard II in Andrew Garfield's historical action drama The Uprising.

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