Director James Wan is returning to horror with the release of his new movie Malignant. However, although the film represents a scary, pseudo-homecoming for the filmmaker, it also highlights for fans of his previous work how difficult it is now for him to return to the franchises that made his name. Despite their incredible success, Wan has now moved past the likes of Saw and The Conjuring, developing and expanding as an auteur in the process. Unfortunately, this means that – while it's not impossible – his return to two iconic horror sagas is now less likely than ever.
In many respects, James Wan is a master of horror. He made his directorial debut with 2004's Saw after two successful short films, and followed this up by serving as executive producer on the first two sequels in the franchise. In subsequent years, Wan also directed the supernatural horror Dead Silence, before launching both the Insidious series in 2010 and The Conjuring universe in 2013. In both cases, Wan directed the first sequel before moving on to other projects.
Given his prolific record in created much-loved and highly influential horror hits, it might make sense for Wan to return to his roots. However, the trajectory of his career to date reveals that he is a filmmaker fixated on the future. Throughout his time in the industry, Wan has never been afraid to leave his creations in other capable hands, take what he has learned from a project and move on to the next exciting idea. For this reason, a possible Wan return to sagas like Saw and The Conjuring, while not impossible, is definitely against his usual MO.
One of the key characteristics that sets Wan apart as a modern horror icon is his ability to use lessons from previous films and incorporate them into his work. For instance, after his success with the visceral body-horror of Saw, Wan moved into more psychological, supernatural territory with Dead Silence. Although the film was less critically and commercially successful, the director still incorporated elements of the movie into his smash-hit Insidious. Following this, Wan continued his progression further, culminating in arguably his most successful feature to date – The Conjuring. Despite each film sharing a common DNA, the evolution from one movie and new franchise to the next is extremely striking. This is one reason why, in many ways, going backwards is not really a viable option.
Another consideration is that Wan has, in some ways, grown beyond the low-budget thrills of Saw and the quiet terror of The Conjuring. In addition to his successes in horror, Wan has also directed successful action flicks such as Furious 7 and Aquaman. Given his sponge-like habit of incorporating elements of his previous films into his work, it seems likely that Wan's overall directorial style has changed a great deal since his early horror hey-day. Ultimately, this could still make Malignant a success. However, it's clear from Wan's career thus far and the way in which he has developed as a director that the new movie will represent a leap forward from the movies that helped make his name.
