Although director James Wan has branched out into different genres, he’s still arguably best known for his work in horror. Among his work this decade was helming the first two Conjuring movies, and while he remains a producer in this franchise, Wan passed on directing The Conjuring 3, with The Curse of La Llorona’s Michael Chaves handling those duties instead.
CinemaBlend’s own Eric Eisenberg had the opportunity to sit down with James Wan for the upcoming release of Annabelle Comes Home, the third movie in the Annabelle film series that spun out of The Conjuring. When asked if he’d ever consider directing another movie set in the Conjuring universe, Wan responded:
Listen, I never say no to anything. That’s what I’ve learned. It’s great, but I actually… I love discovering new, young filmmakers, upcoming filmmakers. These movies really allow these filmmakers the opportunity to play in our world.
So while James Wan hasn’t 100% ruled out since in the director’s chair for The Conjuring 4, 5, etc, or one of the spinoffs, it sounds like we shouldn’t get our hopes up of that happening. He prefers handing the reins to different directors, which certainly helps with providing fresh perspectives.
Besides, as mentioned earlier, it’s not as if James Wan has abandoned the Conjuring franchise. In addition to his producing duties, he’s also helped hash out some of the stories, including most recently with Annabelle Comes Home.
Still, The Conjuring isn’t the first time James Wan has directed a movie or two in a franchise and then stepped aside. He opted not to helm [any Saw movies](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saw(franchise) past the first one (which was his directorial debut) and he only helmed the first two _Insidious movies. When it was brought up how he’s never directed a full trilogy, Wan responded:
That’s not me. It’s weird, everyone wants me to do the full trilogy thing. I’m like, ‘You’re lucky enough to get me to come back to do the second one,’ A, and B, usually by the time I get to Number 2, I always feel like I’ve said all I need to say and I’m ready to move on. I’m ready to move on to start something new, do something else that excites me. That’s how it’s always been for me.
That philosophy has certainly helped with James Wan finding work in the action realm, as he directed Furious 7 and Aquaman. There’s no official word yet on if Wan will be back for Aquaman 2, but even if he does return, given his mindset about trilogies, we should probably prepare for the possibility he’ll forgo doing a hypothetical Aquaman 3.
So for now, James Wan will still be helping out on the Conjuring franchise, but don’t expect him to be leading things from behind the camera again. This cinematic universe will continue when Annabelle Comes Home is released on June 26. Looking even further into the future, Wan is lined up to produce the Mortal Kombat reboot.
