Movies
Third ‘Conjuring’ Has a Writer, James Wan Isn’t Expected to Direct
While James Wan isn’t expected to direct, The Conjuring 2‘s David Leslie Johnson will write the screenplay for the third film in the growing Warner Bros./New Line horror universe, Deadline reports.
While The Conjuring 3 is expected to bring Wan back into the fold, he is not expected in the same capacity. Wan directed the first Conjuring (which still holds the record as the biggest opening weekend for a non-sequel at $41.8M). Wan also directed, co-wrote produced the second in what has become a lucrative franchise.
This time around, expect Wan to serve as producer through his Atomic Monster production company with Peter Safran who is also in the wings to return as producer.
Screenwriter Johnson is well-known to genre fans as he scripted the second film of the franchise, is also known for the horror film Orphan and for scripting the forthcoming reboot of A Nightmare on Elm Street.
The logline for the third installment of the popular franchise — The Conjuring 3 — is currently under wraps but will also be based on another of the real-life case files of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren.
The Conjuring 3 marks the seventh film in the growing Conjuring universe following that of its first two incarnations plus Annabelle, Annabelle: Creation, The Nun and The Crooked Man (which is currently in development).
A contemporary reimagining of H.P. Lovecraft’s short story Herbert West: Reanimator is on the way, and Deadline has unveiled the first look at the new Herbert West and the pathologist drawn to his orbit.
The original screenplay and storyline come from Jade Sandberg Wallis.
Michael Grossman (“The Originals”, “Pretty Little Liars”) directs.
The new images introduce star Joseph Morgan (“Vampire Diaries“), who plays “brilliant surgeon and scientist Herbert West, who is obsessed with creating a serum to reanimate the dead.” Katie Cassidy (Speed Demon) stars opposite as the pathologist with a troubled past who joins his efforts.
Together, they prove that conquering death may be the ultimate sin against life itself.
The film’s official synopsis: “As a child, Herbert West watches his father Peter reanimate his dead mother Judith in a secret basement lab — only for Judith to mortally wound Peter and nearly kill Herbert before Peter shoots her. The trauma leaves its mark on Herbert, but so does one final image: his mother’s finger, twitching after death. Thirty years later, Herbert West is a brilliant, secretive surgeon still chasing his father’s obsession.
“Pathologist Kate Locke arrives in town and is drawn into his orbit — first through a spark at a hospital fundraiser, then through his secret lab, where he reveals a serum capable of reanimating severed tissue. Kate, hiding a dark past of her own, is thrilled rather than horrified, and moves into West’s mansion to work alongside him. Their early experiments on a cadaver succeed only briefly. West concludes that dead tissue is the problem — they need something fresher.”
Supporting cast includes Scott Aiello, Ira J Amyx, Randall Newsome, Emma Reinagal, James D. Bryce, Kathryn A Bentley, Jack Lancaster, Amy Holland Pennell, John Pierson, Mindy Shaw, Eric Dean White, Tristan Wilder Hallet, Adrienne Lamping, Aaron Crippen, and Drew Patterson.
Makeup artist Jeff Lewis (“Star Trek: Voyager,” “Star Trek: Enterprise”) and cousin Roger Lewis are heading the production via their newly established Woodlake Entertainment.
Lovecraft’s short story, first serialized in Home Brew magazine in 1922, is the first among his works to mention the fictional Miskatonic University. It was most famously adapted into a 1985 horror movie from Stuart Gordon, starring Jeffrey Combs as Herbert West.
Herbert West: Reanimator is set in Alton, Illinois, where production is now underway.
Herbert West: Reanimator. Photo credit: Matt Lief Anderson
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