James Wan will Return to Direct 2016's 'The Conjuring' Sequel

After establishing himself as one of today's preeminent horror directors, James Wan (Saw, Insidious) decided to take a breather from the genre after helming last year's The Conjuring. He took on something completely different in Fast & Furious 7, and while that production has seen its fair share of turmoil causing some major delays, Wan is all but wrapped on it now and looking for what's next. And it looks like what he'll be doing is going back to what he does best, grabbing the reins for The Conjuring 2.

Yesterday news broke that New Line was bumping The Conjuring 2 from its October 2015 date down to some time in 2016, fueling speculation the move was accommodate Wan's schedule. That appears to have been the case with Wan returning to produce and direct the film which is now part of a growing franchise. Earlier this month saw the release of Annabelle, a spinoff that didn't include The Conjuring stars Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga. Both are expected to return for the original film's sequel, reprising their roles as paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. Wan spoke about his time away from horror and how it ultimately sparked his desire to return....

Wan: “It was during the editing of Fast & Furious 7 that my brain started sparking ideas for The Conjuring sequel. Taking a break from horror has allowed me to be creatively rejuvenated. I’m excited to tell the story of the next case-file of Ed & Lorraine Warren and expand on this world we’ve created.”

There had been a plan for Wan to direct an adaptation of his comic book, Malignant Man, but that appears to be on the backburner for now. 

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'The Conjuring' Sequel In the Works

Give James Wan (Saw, Insidious) a couple of million dollars, sometimes not even that much, and he's proven capable of churning out a horror film that earns 100 times its budget. Obviously, studios love numbers like those, and New Line is probably expecting his latest spookfest The Conjuring to do big business when it opens this weekend. In fact, they're counting on it, and are already preparing to turn it into a franchise.

New Line has announced that a sequel to The Conjuring is in the works, basing it on the strong wave of positive buzz from audiences and critics alike. Writers Chad and Carey Hayes are returning to pen the script, and it's expected that the sequels will be based on the many case files of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, who are portrayed by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga. Their past cases have already served as the basis for The Amityville Horror, The Haunting in Connecticut and others. It's unclear whether Wilson and Farmiga will return, but the studio will almost certainly pull out all of the stops to make it happen.

The real question is whether Wan will direct, as he's moving on to helm Fast & Furious 7 this summer. If that takes off and he decides to hang out with Vin Diesel and Paul Walker for awhile, he may not be able to fit The Conjuring 2 in his schedule. [Variety]

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