Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, the directorial duo behind Paranormal Activity 3, are almost certainly returning for their second consecutive found footage thriller.  Bloody-Disgusting reports that Joost and Schulman are in final negotiations, with the deal closing at just about any moment now.

Joost and Schulman made their first film with the controversial documentary Catfish, which became a rare doc to find success in the mainstream and permeate pop-culture.  Many an eyebrow was raised when the duo first hopped about the Paranormal Activity series, but last October their film reinvigorated the franchise, earning plenty of money and an enthusiastic response from fans.

After Oren Peli's original Paranormal Activity, which cost less than $20,000 to produce, earned $107.9 million domestically, the Peli-less sequel dipped a bit to $84.7 million.  The third entry brought in $104 million domestically and actually outgrossed the original internationally, with a global total of more than $200 million.

So it's not terribly surprising that Paramount is eager to get Joost and Schulman involved with Paranormal Activity 4.  The last two films were written by Christopher Landon, and it seems reasonable to assume the studio might want him to once again script some paranormal happenings.  In fact, it's conceivable that Landon could already be at work on the third sequel, though there's no word one way or another on the writer.

Earlier this week, Paramount official announced that Paranormal Activity 4 will arrive in theaters on October 19 of this year, following the release patten set by Paranormal Activities 2 and 3 over the last two years.