James Wan

Well, it looks like action star Dolph Lundgren is stepping back into the world of DC Comics — this time into a big superhero tentpole. Lundgren has just joined the cast of James Wan’s Aquaman as the dastardly King Nereus.

Would the horror genre work as the basis for a cinematic universe? It’s an interesting question. While horror films are certainly no strangers to sequels and prequels  —  there are eleven Friday the 13th movies, after all, and most of them are pretty much unrelated outside of their central villains  —  they are fairly reliant on individual characters to support the weight of new movies. There’s not enough depth to the Friday the 13th franchise to make a movie thatdoesn’t feature Jason Voorhees; for a horror film to truly inspire its own cinematic universe, you’d need a B-roll of characters who could each terrify audiences in their own right.

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a director in possession of frequent collaborators, once hired to direct a superhero film, will probably feature his collaborators in said film. Rick Famuyiwa, back when he was set to helm the Flash movie, brought on Kiersey Clemons, whom he directed in Dope; Taika Waititi is bringing Sam Neill, who starred in Hunt for the Wilderpeople, into Thor: Ragnarok. Now, James Wan, who directed Patrick Wilson in both Conjuring movies, has cast him as Orm in Aquaman.

Just when you thought it was safe to buy dolls again…Nope. Here’s the first trailer for Annabelle 2, which, as the title suggests, is a sequel to last year’s relatively successful James Wan-produced spinoff of The Conjuring, featuring that damn creepy doll and her creepy antics. This time, she’s terrorizing a doll-maker, and that seems totally fair, to be honest, since he’s responsible for the creation of her kind and their endless suffering at the hands of ruthless children.

Full disclosure: I’m afraid of the dark. As soon as I walk into a darkened room I rush to the nearest light switch. I’ll use my phone’s flashlight to guide the way if the switch is far, and sometimes I’ll leave all the lights if I’m home alone. Your eyes play tricks on you in the dark – What was that? Oh, just the cat. Wait, I don’t have a cat! There’s security and comfort in being able to see your surroundings, which makes the premise of David Sandberg‘s ‘Lights Out’ even more terrifying.

There have been numerous rumors over the last few years about an eighth installment in the Saw franchise. Last we heard, Lionsgate tapped Piranha 3D scribes Josh Stolberg and Pete Goldfinger to write the screenplay for the sequel, titled Saw: Legacy (gee, what could that title mean), and while the studio has yet to confirm anything, a new report makes the return of the franchise seem much more concrete — and imminent.

Like that creepy doll from The Conjuring, that creepy nun from James Wan’s The Conjuring 2 will also get her own spinoff, further expanding the spooky Wan-iverse. The director’s fictional versions of famous paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren have housed an entire collection of keepsakes and haunted objects from their cases, meaning there’s no shortage of possibilities for Wan’s ever-growing franchise.

There’s been a lot of chatter surrounding recent changes at Warner Bros. regarding their DC Extended Cinematic Universe. Following the underwhelming debut of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice this past March, despite racking in $871 million worldwide, reports surfaced about executive shake-ups at the studio. Warner established a dedicated division called ‘DC Films,’ which is now spearheaded by DC Comics chief creative officer Geoff Johns. But that didn’t seem to be the last of it. Last week, the New York Post reported that Warner Bros. would be undergoing even more management changes over the next six months.

In news that should delight horror fans, 'The Conjuring 2' has officially secured the return of director James Wan. His involvement with the sequel was up in the air since he left horror behind to direct 'Fast and Furious 7,' but the genre that gave him his start has pulled him back in ... and we're happy to have him back.