Patrick Dempsey in Talks to Star in Eli Roth’s ‘Thanksgiving’ Horror Thriller

The first guest for Eli Roth’s Thanksgiving is at the door.

Patrick Dempsey, the Grey’s Anatomy star who recently appeared in Disney’s Disenchantedis in talks to star in the slasher horror movie that is being made by Spyglass.

Thanksgiving is based on the faux trailer that Roth made 16 years ago for the Quentin Tarantino-Robert Rodriguez double bill, Grindhouse. The filmmaker has had a script done for over a dozen years but finally got a chance to bring the turkey home when Spyglass stepped in to finance it late last year. Shooting begins in March in Toronto.

Plot details are on the thin side although it concerns a slasher who comes to small Massachusetts town with the intention of “creating a Thanksgiving carving board out of the town’s inhabitants,” per sources.

Dempsey would play the town’s sheriff, per sources. Roth is directing and producing with Spyglass’ Roger Birnbaum.

Dempsey starred as good guy Dr. Derek “McDreamy” Shepherd in over 200 episodes of Grey’s Anatomy, one of TV’s longest-running shows. He has played a romantic lead in rom-coms such as Made of Honor and Valentine’s Day, as well as in Enchanted and its sequel, which debuted on Disney+ last year. He does have some slasher movie experience thanks to a role in Scream 3which was released in 2000, but casting the actor known for his clean-cut characters could prove to be a coup in a movie that promises to have Roth returning to his gory and bloody roots.

Dempsey is repped by UTA, Burstein Company and Goodman Genow.