James Wan Returns to Horror with The Conjuring 2; Will He be Directing a DC Movie as well?

Nobody can deny how last year's The Conjuring was such a horror masterpiece. Its director James Wan has always been best known as one of the more recent masters of horror, having pioneered the Saw franchise and also directed such hits as Insidious. Recently, Wan has shifted to the action genre, as he is directing the upcoming Fast & Furious 7. Now, James Wan has announced that he is returning to horror, with the sequel of The Conjuring. [hit the jump to continue]

With the critical and commercial success of The Conjuring, it was pretty obvious that Warner Bros would be pushing for a sequel. This sequel was initially slated to open next Halloween, but when it was first announced, it was unclear if Wan would be returning to the director’s chair or if he would continue to focus his talents on other genres.

Now, Warner Bros has announced that it was pushing the release of the film to 2016, and now it appears we have a reason for the release date shift: Wan is, in fact, returning to direct. He has officially signed on to direct The Conjuring 2 for New Line Cinema as part of an overall deal with the studio through which Wan will produce and direct films across all genres.  Apparently Universal has options on Wan to helm future installments of the Fast & Furious series, but they have allowed him to tackle The Conjuring sequel as his next project.  No decision has been made as to Wan’s involvement in further Fast & Furious sequels just yet.

The story of The Conjuring 2 will follow the next case file of the real-life supernatural investigator husband and wife team of Ed and Lorrain Warren, played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga.  New Line has been exploring a potential franchise based on the Warrens’ numerous cases, that means that it might not just stop with 2.  You’ve no doubt seen the duo’s work onscreen before, as their accounts were the basis for The Amityville Horror and The Haunting in Connecticut. But for now, we can rejoice, for the meantime, on the fact that Wan is back.

In addition to directing The Conjuring 2, though, some have pointed out that Wan’s production deal with New Line Cinema could see him directing one of Warner Bros.’s DC Comics movies.  Since Shazam is the only one that is a co-production between WB and New Line, and since it stars Wan’s Fast & Furious co-star Dwayne Johnson, there's an incredibly huge possibility that Wan will be directing the Shazam movie.
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