Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom director James Wan says that he supports fan campaigns for Malignant 2. Wan directed Malignant just after the first Aquaman film in order to take a break from the big-budget world of filmmaking and return to his horror roots. The film stars Annabelle Wallis as a woman tormented by visions of grisly murders that she soon discovers are actual murders with a deeper connection to her than she realized. Malignant debuted in theaters and HBO Max last year, failing to make waves at the box office, but quickly gaining notoriety as a cult classic in the making, with author Stephen King even showing love for the film.
Wan began his career as a horror filmmaker starting with the Saw franchise, which chiseled his name into the genre as a preeminent auteur. He further solidified that reputation by directing two more horror franchise films, Insidious and The Conjuring, both of which have spawned multiple sequels and become genre staples. Wan then took a detour from the genre, directing Furious 7, his first foray into big-budget filmmaking, which was a very successful endeavor. The director took that success and jumped into the superhero genre with Aquaman (and now the sequel), which brought in over $1 billion at the global box office, making Wan a Hollywood powerhouse.
In an exclusive interview with Screen Rant promoting the 4K release of Malignant, the director says that he supports fan campaigns to get a Malignant 2 made. The director says that a sequel to the horror entry is possible, but he leaves it up to the audience, saying, "I always say that stuff is up to the fans. That's up to the audience out there. 'You guys tell me,' that's what I say." Wan goes on to suggest a hashtag and implies another studio besides WB may need to step in. "The fans out there should start a groundswell movement, #Malignant2, and see [if] you get something going. See if we can spot a studio to push for another one," said Wan.
Wan is currently in post-production for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which won't debut until March 2023, so his plate is full for the time being. The director has yet to announce his next project, which could be anything given his stature in the industry. In addition to directing, Wan is a prolific producer with a number of upcoming projects in that capacity, including Blumhouse's M3GAN, The Nun 2, and Insidious 5, among others. Wan abandoned plans to do a spinoff of Aquaman's The Trench, which was revealed to be a Black Manta spinoff, but there's always the possibility that he could explore other spinoff ideas as HBO Max continues to grow content, particularly for DC properties.
Malignant is a wild, gory, and outrageous horror romp that's every bit as cheesy and silly as it is bloody and freaky, making it a perfect fit for cult classic status. Wan always said the intent was to make a back-shelf video horror title and Malignant is very much in that vein, even if the box office receipts didn't reflect what it was trying to pull off. Fortunately, Wan has continued to dive back to the genre that made him famous, while also stretching his wings with big-budget fare, making him an all-encompassing filmmaker that can handle multiple genres. Whether or not that leads to a Malignant 2 is up in the air, but one thing Wan continues to do is follow his passion, so whatever comes after Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will surely be something unique to him.
Source: Screen Rant