Last Updated: April 6, 2020
Director James Wan will return to horror soon with his upcoming original film Malignant, and here's everything we know about the project so far. The name James Wan has come to be associated with both quality and success in Hollywood, as it seems like just about everything he touches turns to gold. Sure, Wan has had a few stumbles here and there, but he's always shown an ability to readily bounce back from those misses, and focus on his next hit.
While Wan now counts mainstream blockbusters like Furious 7 and Aquaman on his resume, it's refreshing to see that he never ends up going too far away from the horror genre. So many filmmakers are content to try and use horror to make a name for themselves, then leave the genre and its passionate fans behind for what they believe to be greener pastures. This isn't true for Wan, who chose to direct Malignant right after Aquaman became a billion-dollar smash, instead of just moving on to the inevitable sequel.
Frequent Wan partner Warner Bros. originally had Malignant slated for release this summer, suggesting they have major confidence in the project. Given his track record, that confidence has been earned. Here's what we know about Malignant so far.
Malignant Release Date
It was first confirmed in July 2019 that Malignant would be James Wan's next directorial venture after Aquaman, and that he would co-write the script with actress Ingrid Bisu. Malignant commenced production in fall 2019, and wrapped in December. By then, it had been assigned a release date of August 14, 2020 by distributor Warner Bros. Unfortunately, on March 24, 2020, Malignant officially became the latest Hollywood casualty of the Coronavirus outbreak, as the film was delayed indefinitely. It's an understandable, but disappointing, move.
Malignant Cast
Leading the Malignant cast is Annabelle Wallis, star of Annabelle and The Mummy 2017. Malignant's male lead is George Young, of the short-lived CW show Containment. Filling out the cast are Jake Abel (Supernatural), Maddie Hasson (Mr. Mercedes), TV veteran Michole Briana White, Jacqueline McKenzie (The 4400), and Mckenna Grace of 2019 hits Captain Marvel and Annabelle Comes Home. Unfortunately, details on each and every character are still being kept under wraps.
Malignant Story Details
As with character details, James Wan is keeping any details on Malignant's plot a secret for now. At one point it was believed that the film was an adaptation of Wan's own Malignant Man comic book, but the director eventually clarified things, confirming that Malignant is an original horror idea not based on any prior intellectual property.