When director James Wan spoke to CinemaBlend’s own Eric Eisenberg back in June, he revealed that his next film would not be Aquaman 2. A sequel to the director’s wildly successful Aquaman is still on the way, but the DC film won’t arrive until 2022 and James Wan had another mysterious project lined up in the interim. We now know what that mystery project is… sort of. Before Aquaman 2, James Wan has another horror movie coming out.
James Wan returns to the horror genre where he got his start and built his name to direct a new untitled horror film for New Line, according to THR. The Aquaman director will direct this new horror film before moving on to work on Aquaman 2, for which he is expected to return to the director’s chair although that isn’t final. He will definitely produce that sequel though, but first comes a new horror film for one of the genre’s leading voices.
The plot for James Wan’s new horror film is being kept under wraps for now, but James Wan will direct and co-write the screenplay, alongside his fiancé, actress Ingrid Bisu. The Romanian actress appeared as Sister Oana in the Conjuring Universe film The Nun. James Wan will also produce the horror film under his Atomic Monster production banner with a production start planned for the fall in Los Angeles.
James Wan previously collaborated with New Line on The Conjuring Universe films, but there is no indication that this will be a return to that universe. It is; however, expected that the secret horror project will take James Wan to a part of the genre that he hasn’t yet explored. It’ll be interesting to see if that holds true and what it means considering that he has already done supernatural with The Conjuring films and serial killer stuff with Saw.
We’re all eager to see Aquaman 2, especially if James Wan returns to the director’s chair, but with that movie a ways off still, it’s good that the director will be able to fit another movie in. James Wan has been one of the driving forces of the horror renaissance and a new addition to the genre from him is worth getting excited about. With shooting starting later this year, it hopefully won’t be too long before we hear more about it.
Once James Wan finishes shooting his new horror film this fall, he can then move into pre-production on Aquaman 2 sometime next year. According to Jason Momoa, the story is already locked for the DC sequel and we know that David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick has been brought back to work on the screenplay for the film.
A release date has not been announced for James Wan’s new horror film but Aquaman 2 is set to arrive on December 16, 2022. For movies you can look forward to this year, check out our premiere guide.
