Movies
Whannell And Wan Back For ‘Insidious 2’! Any Guesses As To What Happens?
It should come as no surprise that a sequel to Insidious is going forward. After all, the first one had an amazing return on investment.
But what hasn’t been confirmed (until now) is the involvement of Leigh Whannell and James Wan. There had even been talk of the film moving forward without them. When I spoke to Wan in October he had this to say, “The film is about to push 100 million worldwide right now, so I wish I could give you a creative response but when a film like this makes so much money the powers that be usually like to see a sequel. We would only do it if we could come up with something really cool and really unique. That’s why I never did and of the ‘Saw’ sequels because I didn’t want to repeat myself. But if there’s a cool idea, we’ll do it.”
Well he must have found a cool idea! Because it looks like both Whannell and Wan are in. “A sequel to the horror hit Insidious is in the works, with Leigh Whannell returning to write the script and James Wan in talks to once again direct. Jason Blum will produce through Blumhouse Productions and Brian Kavanaugh Jones, Oren Peli and Steven Schneider will be exec producers.”
“Insidious was the most fun project I’ve ever worked on,” Whannell said in a statement. “From start to finish it was an absolute joy—from the writing of the screenplay, all the way to the first screening of the film at the Toronto film festival. I believe that James Wan and I achieved what we set out to do—create a horror film for horror fans…Both of us feel that we can mine more terror from the world we created and know that if we assemble every member of the original team, we will have an amazing continuation of the story for fans of the first film. Thank you so much to every fan—you are the reason why we do what we do. See you in The Further.”
Wan and Whannell are keeping the plot of the sequel under wraps. What do you guys hope for in the sequel?
“Mythic Quest” actor Chase Yi has been cast in a lead role in Paramount and Blumhouse’s new Paranormal Activity movie, Deadline reports this afternoon.
Ian Tuason (Undertone) will direct the eighth installment in the Paranormal Activity film franchise, set to release in theaters May 21, 2027.
As for character details or plot, well, those remain scarce at this stage.
While we wait for further news on whether the demonic Toby will reappear, Tuason previously revealed to Bloody Disgusting that technology will play a huge role in his vision: “Technology — camera technology — has advanced to a point where it’s become a big part of the film and what I want to do there.”
It’s fitting, especially as it was the original Paranormal Activity that inspired the filmmaker’s haunting debut, undertone.
Paranormal Activity, created by Oren Peli, first hit theaters in 2007. Its groundbreaking minimalist approach to found-footage ghost stories has spawned a seven-film franchise that’s grossed nearly $900 million worldwide.
Franchise originator Oren Peli will produce for Solana Films, with James Wan and Jason Blum producing for Blumhouse Atomic Monster. Michael Clear and Judson Scott will exec produce for Blumhouse Atomic, with Alayna Glasthal overseeing the project for the company. Other exec producers include Steven Schneider for Room 101, Inc., Dan Slater and Cody Calahan.
Also on the way soon is the Paranormal Activity stage play.