🚨 SHOCKER: David Harbour dives headfirst into a chilling true-crime thriller DIRECTED by Courteney Cox—teaming up with Patricia Arquette in a plot so twisted, it’s ripped straight from a nightmare… But amid fresh harassment claims from his Stranger Things co-star, is this his boldest escape yet? 😱

David Harbour is wasting no time shaking off his latest personal drama, signing on to star in the indie true-crime thriller Evil Genius, directed by Friends icon Courteney Cox. The Stranger Things alum joins an ensemble led by Oscar winner Patricia Arquette in the film, which is already drawing comparisons to the genre’s most addictive tales of deception and despair. Production kicked off in New Jersey this week, with Harbour front and center despite swirling allegations from his on-screen daughter, Millie Bobby Brown.

The movie draws inspiration from Netflix’s 2018 docuseries Evil Genius: The True Story of America’s Most Diabolical Bank Heist, which captivated audiences with its 80% Rotten Tomatoes score and a narrative straight out of a fever dream. The real-life saga revolves around the 2003 Erie, Pennsylvania, bank robbery involving pizza delivery man Brian Wells, who was forced at gunpoint to commit the crime while strapped to a homemade explosive collar—dubbed the “pizza bomber” by locals. Wells’ death by detonation during a standoff with police sparked a web of conspiracy, coercion, and fringe characters that left investigators—and viewers—questioning who the real villains were. The series, directed by Barbara Schroeder and Trey Borzillieri, peeled back layers of manipulation, including the involvement of Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong, a convicted murderer, and a cast of accomplices driven by love, greed, and desperation.

Evil Genius the film promises to fictionalize this bizarre chapter, penned by WGA nominee Courtenay Miles. Cox, making her feature directing debut after helming TV episodes and the 2012 docudrama Talhotblond (another Schroeder-inspired project), couldn’t hide her excitement in a statement to Deadline. “I’ve been fascinated by Evil Genius since I first saw the documentary,” she said. “It’s stranger than fiction. At moments darkly funny and yet deeply emotional. A story about love, loneliness, manipulation, and the people on the fringes who get pulled into something much bigger than themselves.” As a producer alongside Jason Bateman’s Aggregate Films and August Night, Cox is steering the ship with producers Michael Costigan and John Buderwitz, ensuring the tone balances the case’s grotesque humor with its tragic undercurrents.

Harbour, 50, steps into a role that’s tailor-made for his brooding intensity—though specifics remain under wraps amid the film’s secretive early shoot. Best known as the gruff, donut-loving Chief Jim Hopper on Stranger Things, where he’s earned a Critics Choice Award, Golden Globe nod, and two Emmy nominations, Harbour brings a proven track record of playing flawed everymen thrust into chaos. His Hopper arc culminates in the show’s fifth and final season, dropping in staggered releases starting November 26, 2025, with episodes on Netflix through the December 31 finale. Post-Hawkins, Harbour’s slate is packed: He just wrapped Violent Night 2 for Universal, a bloody holiday sequel to the 2022 hit where he played Santa Claus gone rogue, and he’s gearing up for Marvel’s Avengers: Doomsday on December 18, 2026, reprising his Black Widow turn as the Soviet super-soldier Red Guardian. Thunderbolts* and Marvel Zombies voice work keep him in the MCU orbit, but Evil Genius marks a pivot to grounded, psychological grit.

Arquette, 57, headlines opposite Harbour, fresh off her Emmy-winning turn as the empathetic Irene in Apple’s Severance. The Boyhood Oscar winner for Best Supporting Actress has a knack for true-crime territory, having starred in The Act (another explosive real-life tale) and narrated docs like Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer. Their pairing feels serendipitous—Arquette was once sister-in-law to Cox’s ex-husband David Arquette during Cox’s 1999-2013 marriage—adding a layer of Hollywood nostalgia to the mix.

The supporting cast is a murderer’s row of character actors primed for breakout moments. Michael Chernus (Severance, Orange Is the New Black) brings his everyman unease; Garret Dillahunt (Deadwood, Raising Hope) his weathered menace; Owen Teague (Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes) fresh-faced intensity; Ryan Eggold (The Blacklist, New Amsterdam) brooding charm; Danielle Macdonald (The Tourist, Patti Cake$) raw vulnerability; Gregory Alan Williams (The Righteous Gemstones) authoritative gravitas; Tom McCarthy (Oscar-winning director of Spotlight, acting in The Lowdown) subtle depth; and Harlow Jane (She Came to Me) emerging edge. This ensemble promises the kind of layered performances that turned the docuseries into a binge-watch phenomenon.

But Harbour’s involvement isn’t without controversy. Just days before the Evil Genius announcement, reports surfaced that Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown, 21, filed a formal harassment complaint against him with Netflix and the production’s HR team. Sources claim the allegations stem from on-set tensions during Season 5 filming, where Brown’s Eleven character shares a paternal dynamic with Harbour’s Hopper. Details remain sealed, but insiders describe it as “verbal altercations” escalating into a “toxic environment” for Brown, who’s spoken publicly about her growth from child star to producer on projects like Netflix’s Enola Holmes series. Harbour’s team has yet to comment, but a source close to the actor dismissed it as “misunderstandings blown out of proportion amid the emotional finale shoot.”

This isn’t Harbour’s first brush with headlines. His 2020 divorce from singer Lily Allen after four years of marriage drew scrutiny, especially after Allen’s 2025 memoir Screwed alluded to infidelity on his part, painting a picture of a union strained by Hollywood’s glare. Allen, 40, detailed in interviews how Harbour’s rising fame clashed with her own career pivot, leading to “irreconcilable differences” filed in New York. Harbour, now dating Hellboy co-star Milla Jovovich, has kept a low profile on the personal front, focusing on philanthropy like his work with the Lower Eastside Girls Club.

The timing of Evil Genius couldn’t be more ironic—or defiant. Harbour skipped Stranger Things‘ promotional junket, fueling speculation of a rift with Netflix. But reps clarified he was never scheduled, pointing instead to his commitment to Cox’s film. “David’s all-in on this project,” a production insider told E! News. “The script hit him hard—it’s about ordinary folks unraveling under pressure, much like his own Hopper journey.”

Cox’s directorial eye adds intrigue. The 61-year-old Scream scream queen has quietly built a resume behind the camera: Episodes of Cougar Town, 9JKL, and the 2020 short Jimmy Kimmel in VR: The Getaway, plus her 2012 debut Talhotblond, which dramatized an online catfishing murder. “Courteney’s got this uncanny ability to blend horror with heart,” says Aggregate Films’ Costigan. “She’s perfect for a story this unhinged.”

The “pizza bomber” case itself is a rabbit hole of absurdity and tragedy. Wells, 46, was delivering a pizza to a TV tower when two men hijacked him, chaining a bomb to his neck and handing him a cane gun with instructions for a heist. Notes found in his van suggested a scavenger hunt gone deadly, but FBI probes revealed a plot orchestrated by Diehl-Armstrong, who died in prison in 2017, and her lover Kenneth Barnes. Accomplices like “Wild Bob” Thomas and Bill Rothstein added layers of eccentricity—Rothstein’s suicide note confessed to building the device. The docuseries humanized the fringes: Loner inventors, desperate lovers, and small-town schemers ensnared in a heist that netted just $250.

For Harbour, it’s a chance to flex dramatic muscles honed on Broadway—his Tony-nominated Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? revival opposite Elisabeth Moss showcased his raw volatility. “David’s got that everyman rage simmering under the surface,” Miles, the screenwriter, told Variety. “In Evil Genius, he channels it into someone teetering on victim or villain—blurring lines like the real case.”

Arquette echoed the sentiment: “This story’s a mirror to how manipulation preys on the vulnerable. Working with Courteney and David feels like fate—dark, twisted fate.” Filming in Jersey evokes the case’s Rust Belt roots, with shoots at Erie stand-ins for authenticity.

As Stranger Things bows out—its finale getting a rare simultaneous theatrical-streaming push—Harbour’s pivot to indies signals a post-binge evolution. Fans on X (formerly Twitter) are buzzing: “David in true crime? Hopper vs. the Upside Down of real life—sign me up,” one user posted, while another quipped, “From Demogorgons to pizza bombs? Harbour’s range is unhinged.” Hashtags like #EvilGenius and #DavidHarbour are trending, with posts from outlets like JustJared amplifying the cast reveal.

Critics wonder if the scandals will shadow the film. Brown’s complaint, filed via her reps at WME, seeks an on-set mediator for future collabs, per TMZ. Harbour’s absence from the Stranger Things trailer—where Hopper appears in just a few frames—sparked boycott whispers, but Netflix insiders call it “editorial choice” amid the ensemble focus.

Yet Harbour’s career trajectory screams resilience. From indie darlings like Revolutionary Road (opposite Kate Winslet) and No Sudden Move (with Don Cheadle) to blockbusters like Quantum of Solace and Hellboy, he’s the guy who grounds the grotesque. His 2012 End of Watch cop role foreshadowed Hopper’s heroism; Suicide Squad‘s Dexter Tolliver hinted at moral ambiguity.

Evil Genius could be his prestige pivot. With no release date yet—likely 2027 via indie distributors like A24 or Neon—the buzz is building. August Night’s financing keeps it lean, but Bateman’s involvement (post-Ozark and The Morning Show) ensures polish. “This isn’t just a heist flick,” a crew member leaked to The Hollywood Reporter. “It’s a character study in desperation—Harbour and Arquette eat it alive.”

In Hollywood’s churn of reboots and IP grabs, Evil Genius stands out as a throwback to ’90s thrillers like The Usual Suspects—cerebral, character-driven, and unapologetically weird. For Cox, it’s a directorial flex beyond Scream‘s meta-slasher schlock. For Harbour, it’s redemption amid the roar: A role that proves talent trumps tabloids.