James Wan to Direct The Conjuring 2, Possibly a DC Movie as Well

Posted by on October 21st, 2014   Filed under: Action, Books/Comics, Horror, Rumours
Source: Deadline

conjuring2

Last week we heard a juicy rumour that James Wan might be contemplating a return to the Saw franchise now that a decade has passed since he directed the original film. Of course, last year he also said that he was “finished with the horror genre” because he did not want to be pigeonholed as a director and was more interested in making other kinds of films. Now that he is putting the finishing touches on Fast & Furious 7, however, it seems that he has been “creatively rejuvenated”. Wan has reportedly signed on to direct The Conjuring 2, in addition to inking a first look deal with New Line Cinema and Warner Brothers that could lead to even bigger things. New Line president / COO Toby Emmerich had this to say about the announcement:


“We had a great experience with James on The Conjuring, and we give him a lot of credit for that movie working so well. He worked on the screenplay and came to the table with very inventive things that were not in the script and cast it fantastically well. Add to that his work in producing Annabelle, and he is one of the masters of the genre and we’re happy to have him… James will make an important movie for New Line and Warner Bros or DC, and that is definitely part of the plan, and a reason for bringing him into the family. He’s the only overall director with a deal here, because we see him as a class of one.”

Annabelle has done well enough for Warner Brothers, but the critical reception between that and The Conjuring is like night and day. Clearly it pays to keep James Wan involved in his horror franchises rather than simply handing them off to a bunch of jobbers. However, if he’s so concerned about being pigeonholed, why did he agree to direct this sequel?

The answer could lie in that quote from Toby Emmerich: he will also be directing an “important movie for New Line and Warner Bros or DC.” It doesn’t seem like a stretch to assume he will be directing one of the upcoming DC movies, especially since he has now cut his teeth on massive action films with Fast & Furious 7. Either way, The Conjuring 2 has been pushed back to 2016 to give James Wan more time to develop it. Are you looking forward to The Conjuring 2 and would you like to see James Wan direct a DC movie?



  • Tim

    Oh no.. James Wan working on a big budget under a major studio is not good.. His $20million “The Conjuring” was a huuuuge (generic)disappointment compared to his $1.5 million enthusiastic indie “Insidious”.

  • Anthony

    If by “enthusiastic Indie” You mean “Blatant plagiarism of Poltergeist”, I agree.

  • Tim

    sure it was. and praying tribute to many 70s horrormovies as well. but made with the passion of a true fan and everyone involved against all odds on a tiny budget.
    “the conjuring” took a similar approach, but this time made with corporate calculation instead of passion, blindly stealing a million things to be mushed into an uninspired mess, coldly orchestrated by hollywood accountants and cynically whored out by PR-people.
    the difference is clearly noticeable.
    james wan should stay far away from the studio machine and just continue to sell them his movies through blumhouse. at least he can regain archtistic integrity this way.

  • T. Heilman

    These corporate press releases are just depressing.
    They don’t even attempt to feign artistic interest. They might as well be announcing a promotional deal with Subway or Burger King.

  • Anthony Hebert

    A DC film doesn’t necessarily mean a superhero film, considering could include the Vertigo label as well.
    Having said that, James Wan would KILL it if he directed Sandman. He’d be great with that material.