EXCLUSIVE: McG (Way of the Warrior Kid) is in final negotiations to direct Shout It Out Loud, a biopic about Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley and their superstar rock band KISS, which will be produced by STX Entertainment, sources tell Deadline.

STX declined to comment, but we hear the studio is in discussions with Lionsgate to distribute the film worldwide and co-finance. The project previously had been set up at Netflix, following a bidding war, with Joachim Rønning attached to direct, as we first reported in 2021.

No word on the framing the film will take in looking at KISS’s decades-long musical journey. Financed by UMG, the most recent draft of the script is written by Darren Lemke (S

When the deal makes, McG will produce alongside his Wonderland producing partner Mary Viola. Other producers and executive producers for the project include Mark Canton, Leigh Ann Burton, Doc McGhee, UMG’s Jody Gerson and David Blackman, David Hopwood, Courtney Solomon, and Dorothy Canton, along with Simmons and Stanley. Christa Campbell and Annie Herndon are overseeing for STX.

Currently in production on Way of the Warrior Kid, starring Chris Pratt, for Apple and Skydance, McG is expected to move on to Shout It Out Loud when that film completes. Casting is said to be underway as McG is aiming for production to start in the second quarter of 2025.

An iconic band rooted in hard rock and heavy metal, with glam rock influences, KISS was formed in New York City by Stanley, Simmons, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss in 1973. Known for their signature kabuki-style face paint and larger-than-life, pyrotechnic-filled performances, the band broke out with the the 1975 live album Alive!, which featured the anthem “Rock and Roll All Nite” and solidified their status as one of the era’s top acts. The band’s most successful albums include Destroyer (1976), Love Gun (1977), Alive II (1977) and Dynasty (1979), which produced hits including “Beth,” “Detroit Rock City” and “I Was Made for Lovin’ You.” All four band members released solo albums in 1978.

Frehley and Criss departed KISS decades ago, leaving Simmons and Stanley as the lone original members. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014, the band spent four years on the road for their farewell “End of the Road” World Tour, officially retiring after their final concert at Madison Square Garden in December.

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In a recent interview with the X5 Podcast, Evan Stanley, Paul Stanley‘s son, shared his thoughts on the experience of opening for his father’s band, KISS, as the lead vocalist of his own rock group, AMBER WILD.

“For us to get to play and then watch them every night, it really makes you up your game and study what you do,” Evan said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth). “‘Cause you never wanna be another band — you can’t out-KISS KISS — but you can be the best version of you and take away a ton of just ridiculous insight from watching that show. And not only is the show amazing, but it’s the most consistent show I’ve seen. It’s every single night. The difference between a bad night and a great night, it’s like, no, they’re only great nights. It’s, like, they’re different shades of great. And it’s wild to see a band that far into their career where every night they go out and just throw it all down. It’s awesome.”

“I think it’s weird ’cause I grew up, obviously, so close to it. So I didn’t grow up really listening to a ton of KISS,” he continued. “It was more dad’s band and dad’s work. And when I was maybe, like, 17, I was, like, ‘I’ve gotta try my best to… Let me just try and listen the way a fan would or someone.’ So I got KISS Alive, ’cause that seemed to be kind of — everyone talked about that. And I’ll never be able to listen like a pure fan, but I did my best to kind of disconnect, and I’m, like, ‘Whoa, this is actually so sick.’ And then I kind of started listening to some of the earlier records and made my way through the discography.”

“All the theatrics aside, which are awesome, they’re just great songs. If you close your eyes and go to a KISS show, they’re killer, killer players playing great songs. And I think a lot of times people will try and go, ‘Oh, it’s all spectacle. It’s not a real band.’ It’s, like, get up there and try and do that. Good luck. I’m, like, no. They have incredible songs, timeless songs, great, great players, and it’s so cool-looking. And they blow up a million pounds of s**t every show. How do you top that? It’s, like, you’ve got everything.”