Insidious 5 is reportedly moving forward, now that Insidious: The Last Key has become the highest grossing installment in the supernatural horror franchise yet. In an unusual trend for a horror franchise, all but one Insidious movie to date has outgrossed its predecessors at the international box office. That remains the case with The Last Key, which has now surpassed the previous franchise high (a $161.9 million global haul) set by Insidious: Chapter 2; itself, the last Insidious film that was directed by James Wan.
After Wan stepped away as director, Insidious series writer Leigh Whannell (who also plays the character Specs) assumed the helm for Insidious: Chapter 3, followed by Adam Robitel (The Taking of Deborah Logan) on The Last Key. The third and fourth Insidious movies are prequels to the original film, and fill out the backstory for parapsychologist Dr. Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye) - a character who actually died in the first Insidious. Together, Chapter 3 and The Last Key bring the franchise full circle back to the events of Wan's original installment, bridging the separate Insidious movie timelines in the process.
Related: Insidious: The Last Key's Ending Explained
Bloody Disgusting is now reporting that Insidious 5 is happening and that (according to its sources) is "unlikely" to be another prequel in the vein of the last two chapters. Details beyond that are being kept under wraps for now, including whether Whannell will return to write the fifth installment and/or if Shaye will reprise her role as Shaye in the film.
Insidious producer and Blumhouse Productions head Jason Blum confirmed back in January that an Insidious and Sinister franchise crossover has been considered in the past, and may yet happen in the future. Another direction that Insidious 5 could take would be to build on Chapter 2, which set the stage for future adventures with demon hunters Specs and Tucker (Angus Sampson), while Elise helps them from beyond the grave. It's further possible that the fifth movie will bring back Elise's brother and nieces from The Last Key, now that it's been established that Imogen (Caitlin Gerard) has the same ability to communicate with the supernatural that her aunt had while she was alive.
While the original Insidious remains the only installment that was generally celebrated by critics, the series has clearly developed a loyal following thanks to its ongoing expansion of the lore behind The Further and the bizarre demons that reside there (Lipstick-Face Demon, Keyface, and so on). Shaye as Elise Rainier has similarly emerged as the face of the franchise and would probably be game for a fifth chapter - one that should make things all the more interesting for her acting-wise, now that her character is no longer among the living.
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We will bring you more details on Insidious 5 (actual title TBA) as they become available.
Source: Bloody Disgusting