The scribe who penned the first two 'Insidious' movies will return to serve as scriptwriter for the next film in the horror franchise.
- Sep 17, 2013
AceShowbiz - Hot on the heels of "Insidious Chapter 2" stellar opening over the weekend, it's confirmed that a third "Insidious" movie is in the works. Leigh Whannell, who wrote the scripts for the first "Insidious" in 2011 and then the second one this year, will be back to his post as the screenwriter.
Producer of the two previous movies, Jason Blum, reprises his role behind the scenes. "FilmDistrict, eOne and SPWA have been incredible partners on the Insidious franchise," Blum said. "We are all so grateful for how audiences embraced James Wan and Leigh's latest film and are excited to see what Leigh has in store for the third chapter."
The second "Insidious" movie sees the return of Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne on the lead roles. It follows the Lamberts as they move into a new house after their confrontation with the evil spirits in the first movie, only to find that the demons have followed them to their new place.
The horror pic made on a mere budget of $5 million opened big in North America in its first weekend frontloaded by Friday the 13th, debuting at No. 1 with more than $40 million at the domestic box office. It secures its place as one of the best openers for a horror movie and posts the second-highest debut ever for a September release.
It additionally marks Blumhouse's second micro-budgeted release in a year that grossed over $30M in its debut weekend. In May this year, sci-fi thriller "The Purge" starring Ethan Hawke and Lena Headey opened to $16.8 million on the first day and finished with $34.1 million after the entire weekend.
Despite the "Insidious 2" success, director James Wan is unlikely to return. He told Moviefone in July that he's done directing horror stories. "I'm going to go on record and say I am finished with the horror genre. Conjuring and Insidious 2 are my two last scary movies," he said back then.
"I spent the last ten years of my life doing this. It's time for a change, for goodness sake!...Hollywood puts you in a box. If you do a successful comedy, then you're known as The Comedy Guy. If you do a successful car chase movie, then you become that guy. So I'm a student of cinema, so I just want to make sure I get the chance to make other kinds of films."
Wan is currently focusing his energy on directing street-racing car action "Fast and Furious 7" with Vin Diesel and Paul Walker. He graduates to the big budgeted blockbuster after helming a series of horror movies that included "Saw", "Death Sentence" and the "Insidious" franchise.
Another of his scary movie "The Conjuring" was released last summer. Led by Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson in the cast ensemble, it bowed at No. 1 with $41.9 million and held the title as the biggest horror opening of 2013.
