James Wan is going to direct an original horror project next. By this point in his career, Wan has been responsible for launching no less than three successful horror franchises in the forms of Saw, Insidious, and The Conjuring. He's also lent his moviemaking talents to other genres and managed to deliver crowd-pleasing installments in properties like Fast & Furious (Furious 7) and the DC Extended Universe (Aquaman) over the last five years.
Recently, Wan confirmed that he's planning to direct another movie between now and the release of the Aquaman sequel (which isn't scheduled to arrive until December 2022). However, he refrained from announcing anything about the project, including its genre and whether it's an original venture or part of some franchise. It's now come to light that Wan will, in fact, be returning to the horror genre and is already building a brand-new sandbox for himself to play in.
According to Variety, Wan plans to shoot an as-yet untitled original horror film this fall in Los Angeles. Wan is also cowriting the movie with Ingrid Bisu (who costarred as Sister Oana in last year's Conjuring spinoff, The Nun) and intends to finish production by the end of the year, keeping the project on-course for a 2020 theatrical release.
While it's true that Wan hasn't direct a horror movie since The Conjuring 2 in 2016, he's never exactly left the genre behind him. In addition to cowriting the stories for The Conjuring spinoffs The Nun and Annabelle Comes Home. Wan has served as a producer on every film set in the supernatural horror universe, and continues to play an active role in shaping the direction of the overarching property. Similarly, he was among the producers on Shazam! director David F. Sandberg's Lights Out feature adaptation and lent his services as an EP to the DCU's since-cancelled Swamp Thing series. Clearly, he hasn't lost his passion for finding new ways to scare people.
More than anything, though, it's exciting to hear that Wan is working on a brand-new project. His original horror films have all been fairly different from one another, and typically gone over well with critics and general audiences alike (2007's Dead Silence being the exception). There's also a chance that the movie will end up giving New Line Cinema another horror franchise to add to their collection, based on Wan's previous track record. Failing that, it's just good to see that Wan is taking the time to recharge his batteries and teaming up with Bisu on a smaller, original venture, before he sets to work on his next big-budget tentpole.
Source: Variety