The latest upcoming horror movie to hit theaters is a new take on a genre classic from producers James Wan and Jason Blum called Lee Cronin’s The Mummy. And whether you’ve been to theaters to see it, or are summoning up the courage, you might be curious to know how the heck the production pulled off all that skin flaying! CinemaBlend had to find out.

When Eric Eisenberg sat down with Wan of Atomic Monster, Blum of Blumhouse Productions and Cronin, he asked about what the horrifying skin in the movie is actually made of. It made for a hilarious little moment. Check out the clip below:

When asked about the “actual material” used to make the audience believe some of the characters’ skin is not A-OK, at first, Cronin answered by saying it was “human skin” with a completely straight face before getting serious. Here’s what he had to say candidly about the process:

So, when you’re watching The Mummy, and you’re terrified by all the body horror stuff, perhaps this conversation can help ground things a bit. But, I’m going to be honest, I still think this movie is going to haunt you in all the right ways.

The first reactions to Lee Cronin’s The Mummy have incited all sorts of strong reactions for “not hold[ing] back”, having “ghoulish scares” and “without question, the most terrifying and disgusting Mummy movie you’ll ever see”. The movie earned a high audience score on Rotten Tomatoes of 78%, too.

The movie was thought up by Lee Cronin after someone asked him about when there was a “really, really terrifying” version of the story that’s typically been either a campy slasher or more of an action-adventure. You can check out the stress-inducing The Mummy trailer below:

The movie centers around a couple whose young daughter goes missing in the Egyptian desert. Eight years after her disappearance, she comes back into their lives when she is found mummified in a sarcophagus, yet somehow still alive. Her parents decide to move her back home, but it’s not long before she starts behaving erratically and horrors start occurring. It’s playing in theaters now. And, while you’re here, you can check out the same filmmakers that talked about the comeback of body horror here on CinemaBlend.

Those who've followed some of the most buzzworthy horror movies to be released as of late may have noticed that body horror has been back in a big way. And that trend continues with the latest title on the schedule of upcoming horror movies, Lee Cronin’s The Mummy. If you’ve been wondering why the subgenre (which had its heyday in the 1980s) is back, know that CinemaBlend talked to horror Cronin and producer James Wan to get their thoughts about why grotesque body transformations are all the rage right now.

James Wan is easily one of the most prolific horror filmmakers to have worked in the past few decades. Throughout his career, Wan has worked in directorial and producing capacities for franchises like Saw, The Conjuring, Insidious and M3GAN. This new The Mummy movie honestly feels on brand for him in the best possible way. In terms of the resurgence of body horror, here's what Wan shared with CB:

As Wan explained, much like fashion, different sides of the horror genre cycle in and out of interest among filmmakers and the audiences who watch them over time. In the past few years, body horror initially seemed to gain traction through more niche titles like Swallow, Possessor and Titane. And then The Substance became a cultural touchstone when it earned mass praise and awards buzz, including earning five Oscar nominations. (The Demi Moore-led film ultimately won the Academy Award for Best Makeup & Hairstyling.)

Lee Cronin’s The Mummy presents a lot of body-based scares and provides a off-kilter story as well. The film follows a family dealing with the fallout of their young daughter, Katie, going missing. Eight years after she mysteriously disappears in the Egyptian desert, she returns, but only after having been locked away in an ancient sarcophagi with 57 other individuals. The parents bring their child home to New Mexico but, as the film's trailer teases, it’s perhaps the most terrifying family reunion someone will ever have.

Cronin, who wrote and directed this new Mummy flick, found himself hooked into the project after being asked when there had ever been an adaptation of The Mummy that was “really, really terrifying.” During our interview, Cronin shared a thoughtful take on the reason for body horror's uptick in popularity:

The first reactions to Lee Cronin’s The Mummy have been quite visceral, with people using adjectives like "freaky" and "disgusting" to describe it. Of course, those sentiments were very much meant to be complimentary to the movie’s direction. This movie is definitely a far cry from Brendan Fraser's The Mummy franchise, which is getting a fourth installment. Still, horror hounds looking for body-based frights will surely want to see what Cronin's been cooking up.

Check Lee Cronin's The Mummy when it hits theaters this Friday, April 17. In the meantime, read up on other scary fare that's set to hit the 2026 movie schedule.

The Saw franchise is currently in the midst of a massive shift – and while we’ve seen major changes in this particular horror franchise before, the current one may be the biggest. After over 20 years of the movies being produced by Twisted Pictures, Blumhouse Productions purchased the company’s stake in the movies last year, and now the brand is back in the hands of James Wan a.k.a. the director who launched the franchise. Because of this big move, there have been a lot of question marks about what the future will look like, but now we know one thing for sure: Jigsaw is coming back.

This extremely welcomed news comes straight from James Wan and screenwriter Leigh Whannell, who vaguely spoke about plans for Saw while recently speaking with Bloody Disgusting at the Sundance Film Festival. The former offered an assurance to fans that we shouldn’t expect another movie like Spiral: From The Book Of Saw (the notorious failed 2021 retooling of the franchise), and added that the movie will fully embrace the legendary villain at the core of the canon. Said the OG Saw director,

It doesn’t seem that the name “Tobin Bell” specifically came up in the conversation, but I’m going to choose not to read into that and instead be stoked that the franchise is already making some very smart choices.

The importance of Jigsaw’s presence in these movies was very strongly proven with the release of Saw X in 2023 – which will be remembered as the last movie in the Twisted Pictures era. That title earned some of the best reviews of the entire series in part because it made the choice to tell a prequel story with the notorious John Kramer as its protagonist.

In the making of the next chapter, James Wan says that the aim will be to make a movie that is more akin to the original Saw than the sequels – which is to say really bore down on the horror that is the mind of the cancer-afflicted engineer – but he is also promising that we won’t just see a rehash of material we’ve already seen. He added,

The timetable for this plan is presently murky. While it’s clear that the next Saw movie is in active development, we know virtually nothing about how it’s coming together (beyond the involvement of Wan and Leigh Whannell) or when we can expect to see it. That being said, it was only last June that Blumhouse Productions acquired the franchise, so it’s definitely best to let the creatives cook and hopefully create another great film for the rejuvenated canon.

The Saw franchise has come a long way since James Wan’s original film debuted at the Sundance Film Festival. Since then, the indie hit has become a major horror franchise in its own right. The lore is as deep in the world of Saw as any other franchise, but James Wan, who directed the first film, would like to bring the next one back to basics.

The future of the Saw franchise is in a weird place now. Following the underperformance of Saw X, plans for Saw XI were scrapped, resulting in Lionsgate dropping the franchise and Blumhouse coming in to pick things up. One thing Jason Blum has said he wants from the franchise is the return of James Wan. Wan recently spoke with Letterboxd, and while he didn’t reveal any specific details of what might happen in the future, he did indicate that he would like to see a future Saw film be more like the original. He explained…

James Wan has technically been a producer on every Saw movie in the franchise, though he admits in the interview that he really hasn’t been directly involved in the production of the movies since Saw III. He does believe this distance would be a benefit as it would allow him to come at the franchise without the baggage of everything that came before.

With a new studio at the helm and James Wan wanting to take the franchise back to the beginning, it certainly makes one wonder if a reboot is in store. Certainly, the story of the Saw franchise, all of Jigsaw’s various apprentices, and all the different games have become somewhat convoluted. There’s just a lot that a future Saw movie would need to unpack, and it might be easier to just not do that.

Still, James Wan is absolutely right that a return to the psychological horror of the early franchise is much needed. There’s a reason that the first movie, which didn’t focus a great deal on the wild and bloody traps nearly as much as later installments, resonated with fans. The concept of Jigsaw as a man who, at least believed he was doing people a service, by making them make great decisions about not wasting their lives, has largely been overlooked in favor of gore.

For a franchise that once had annual installments, there seems to be no rush to get into the next installment of the Saw franchise. Hopefully, that’s a good thing, and whatever comes next will be worth the wait.

If there’s one filmmaker whose shadow looms larger than Pandora’s floating mountains, it’s James Cameron. The director has personally shepherded the Avatar franchise from its earliest sketches to its current status as one of the most lucrative film series in history. But even the Terminator director has hinted that he may not be behind the camera forever, and if he does step away, there's a horror filmmaker in the wings wanting a shot at the series.

According to ScreenRant, James Wan is openly raising his hand if Cameron ever decides to step away. While speaking to the outlet during press for The Copenhagen Test, Wan revealed that Avatar (which is streaming with a Disney+ subscription) is one of the few mega-franchises he hasn’t touched yet, and he’d be more than happy to change that if the opportunity arose. He said:

The Conjuring Universe architect’s interest comes at a precarious moment in the Avatar franchise. The most recent entry, Fire and Ash, has been in theaters for a short time and is already barreling toward the billion-dollar mark worldwide. That kind of momentum makes the idea of the Abyss filmmaker stepping aside feel unthinkable, yet the director himself has acknowledged it’s not off the table. With Avatar 4 and Avatar 5 scheduled for 2029 and 2031, respectively, Cameron’s been vocal about pursuing other long-gestating projects, including another Terminator film.

If the mind behind True Lies were to pass the torch, Wan makes a lot of sense as he’s one of the most commercially reliable filmmakers working today. His Conjuring universe alone has grossed roughly $2.8 billion worldwide, making it the most impactful horror franchise ever. If you take into account Saw, Insidious, Furious 7, and Aquaman, you’re looking at a director who knows how to balance studio expectations and audience appeal.

Of course, Avatar is a very different beast from the Conjuring series. Cameron has engineered the world, obsessing over underwater performance capture, new camera systems, and filmmaking techniques. Wan seems to recognize that stepping into Pandora would likely be a collaborative effort rather than a clean break. Still, if anyone could handle it, it would probably be the horror hitmaker.

That kind of partnership might be the only way Disney would feel comfortable moving forward without the series creator in the director’s chair.

Cameron bowing out of the director’s chair would be a seismic shift for the franchise. He’s been hands-on at nearly every creative level, with a meticulous approach that has clearly resonated with audiences, as the first two movies earned an extraordinary $2.923 billion and $2.343 billion worldwide.

James Cameron remains attached to Avatar 4 and 5, as of this writing, but knowing there’s a proven hitmaker like James Wan eager to step in gives Disney a reassuring safety net if the series' creator decides to move on to other film projects.

Avatar: Fire and Ash is now playing in theaters. Be sure to check your local listings for showtimes.

As for the other James, the Australian-born scare maestro is set to direct the upcoming horror movie adaptation of The Call of Cthulu, although a release date hasn’t been announced, and it’s uncertain whether the film will land on the 2026 movie calendar.

I’ve got good news for fans of upcoming horror movies, and more importantly, The Further. The next Insidious chapter has finished filming. The sixth movie in the Blumhouse franchise is officially in the can, which moves the sequel from set to the post-production grind. It’s a real milestone, and the horror master and producer James Wan had some very kind words for the film's director.

The handoff came with a public pat on the back from the architect of this universe. Director Jacob S. Chase announced the wrap on his official Instagram with a clapperboard photo and a thank-you to the cast and crew, signing off with a simple promise: “See you in August.” In the comments, James Wan—franchise co-creator and producer—dropped in with encouragement:

That “family” language fits how the Insidious franchise has operated, with Wan, Leigh Whannell, and Patrick Wilson each taking a turn in the director's chair while maintaining a consistent tone. It’s also a small but public sign-off on Chase’s installment. With cameras down, the work now moves to the mix stage.

Now, how are fans reacting to the news?

Fans' Reactions To Insidious 6 Wrapping

Chase’s wrap post turned the comments into a mini focus group—equal parts hype, jokes, and wish lists. Here are some of the standouts:

• @iamzeewest: “How did I not see any ads for this whatsoever thus far?”
• @heyrobslive: “@creepypuppet can't wait for this one man! Big fan of what you guys do”
• @steventoro101: “Elise better be in it creeping me tf out! Honestly my favorite movie franchise.”
• @jscribblescom: “Wait, what? Is there another Insideous movie coming? If so, hopefully it al ties back to the lamberts and we get another movie with them?”
• @czsworld: “Gonna start calling this InSixDious”
• @_ashden: “Hope it’s better than Red Door”
• @officialhannahsarah: “Oh! OH!!! Congrats! Cannot wait 😱”

With the wrap confirmed and Wan’s public welcome, Insidious 6 still looks on pace for the 2026 movie schedule window Chase teased. There are no plot details yet—and that’s fine; this series often finds its best scares in post.

It's worth noting that some comments had questions about the post-process. However, for the most part, the fan reactions to the update were very positive and extremely celebratory. Now, the wait really begins as we start to anticipate the first footage.

For now, though, we’ve got a finished shoot, a director-producer camaraderie on display, and a comment section that’s doing what horror movie fandom does best, celebrating the genre and pumping up its creators.

Fans can revisit the first two chapters of the Insidious series with their HBO Max subscription. If they want to check out the latest entry, The Red Door, they'll need a Hulu subscription.

How does one craft a proper ending to The Conjuring franchise? It’s a complicated question, and it was taken tremendously seriously in the making of the upcoming The Conjuring: Last Rites. Crafting scares was obviously important (it is a horror franchise, after all), and it was understood that the feature finale would have to stay true to the “based on a true story” roots – but according to producer James Wan, the number one priority in the making of the new 2025 movie was delivering a proper conclusion to the canon’s two most important character: Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga’s Ed and Lorraine Warren.

I had the chance to speak with James Wan earlier this month during the virtual press day for The Conjuring: Last Rites – the filmmaker having first launched the franchise over a decade ago directing 2013’s The Conjuring – and I made a point of asking him about the goals that the upcoming horror movie had in order to provide a satisfying conclusion to the Conjuring Universe. He acknowledged the need to freak audiences out and pull a proper case from the Warren files, but there was no question that the film had to offer closure for the cinematic journey of Ed and Lorraine Warren. Said Wan,

As a fan from the very beginning of the Conjuring Universe, this is a perspective that I wholly agree with. There are plenty of great scares in the series (not to mention the various Annabelle and The Nun spinoffs), but there are plenty of horror movies out there that feature well-crafted terror. What really sets these films apart is the incredible heart and emotion that has gone into the creation of Ed and Lorraine as big screen characters – obviously with a heap of credit belonging to Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga, both for their terrific performances individually and their outstanding chemistry together.

This principal mission was firmly understood in the making of The Conjuring: Last Rites, and that fact is interestingly reflected in the development of the screenplay (credited to David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, whose credits include the last two films in the Conjuring series). Every film undergoes narrative changes – big and or small – as they make their way through pre-production and production, but goal to deliver a proper end for Ed and Lorraine was so clear that the end of the script basically went untouched. Director Michael Chaves explained as much when I spoke with him during the virtual press day, saying,

With The Conjuring: Last Rites now exactly one week away from arriving in theaters, I’m obviously not going to divulge any details about the conclusion here… but stay tuned here on CinemaBlend in the coming days, as we’ll have plenty more coverage of the film that is properly kicking off Spooky Season 2025 when it flies into cinemas everywhere on September 4.

A little less than two years ago, the Saw franchise looked ready to usher in an exciting new chapter. Following the disappointing 2021 release of Saw: Spiral: From The Book Of Saw, the call was made to go back to basics, and the return of Tobin Bell as John Kramer in Saw X not only saw big results at the box office, but the movie earned the best reviews of any title in the series. Because of this success, it was a big shock back in March when it was reported that Saw XI had stalled, and it was even a bigger shock in June when we learned the franchise was being sold to Blumhouse.

So what happened behind the scenes that led to such a big pivot at a crucial time for the upcoming horror movie? The short answer to that question is that there were disagreements about the execution of Saw XI , and it got to the point that the rights holders at Twisted Pictures opted to sell the property instead of moving forward. Details have come out thanks to a Fangoria interview with Twisted Pictures co-founder Oren Koules.

How The Development Of Saw XI Fell Apart

Following the all-around success of the 2023 movie, the plan with Saw XI was to make another in-between chapter – allowing audiences to see John Kramer in action again despite the fact that the character dies in Saw III. Kevin Gruetert (who returned to the franchise for Saw X after making Saw VI and Saw 3D) was hired to return, and screenwriters Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton (who wrote the scripts for Saw IV, Saw V, Saw VI and Saw 3D) penned the script.

Per Oren Koules, he and fellow Twisted Pictures co-founder Mark Burg liked what was coming together from the creatives involved... but they couldn't agree on what he calls the "execution." He told Fangoria,

Precisely what that means isn't clear, and the vagueness invites curiosity. It sounds like the creative direction of Saw XI wasn't an issue, so it's unclear what the sticking point between Oren Koules and Mark Burg was. Was it a question of budget? Shooting location? That answer is not provided in the interview, but what is made clear is that the disagreement was big enough for Twisted Pictures to wash its hands of everything Saw.

More than just letting go of future movies, the entirety of the multimedia franchise was sold to Blumhouse. In Koules' words,

It appeared as though the franchise was ready to start a new era with Saw X, but now there is going to be a new-new era built with the franchise at a new home.

What Is The Saw Franchise's Future At Blumhouse?

What makes Blumhouse a particularly interesting new home for the Saw franchise is the fact that it's now back in the hands of one of the key filmmakers who brought it to life: James Wan. Directing Saw was Wan's gateway into Hollywood when it was released in 2004, and while he didn't return to helm any of the sequels, he is now back in affiliation when the series thanks to the merger between Blumhouse and Wan's production company Atomic Monster that was made official early last year.

Oren Koules says in the interview that Blumhouse/Atomic Monster was the "right place" and the "logical place" for the Saw franchise thanks to James Wan's affiliation. As for what the plan is, that remains cloaked in mystery. The producer notes that the existing script for Saw XI written by Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton remains in play, as it was included in the expansive acquisition of the franchise... but whether or not it will ever go in front of cameras is unclear.

Koules says that he made a point of not actually asking Jason Blum about what the plan is for future Saw movies, saying,

Had things gone as originally planned, Saw XI would be on the way this spooky season, as Lionsgate announced September 26, 2025 as a release date last spring... but now that film is in limbo, and we don't even know if the next installment of the franchise will keep that title. There remain plenty of unanswered questions about the future of Saw to keep our interest in the franchise piqued, so stay tuned here on CinemaBlend in the months ahead as new updates surface.

The horror genre's renaissance is showing no signs of slowing down, to the delight of fans like me. Some of the best horror movies from recent memory come from Blumhouse Productions such as the M3GAN movies. Producer James Wan recently spoke about that franchise's developing spinoff, and name dropped a classic title when sharing its inspiration.

M3GAN 2.0 is in theaters now, continuing the burgeoning franchise with a sequel inspired by Terminator 2. While fans wait for news about a possible threequel, theres' another upcoming horror movie coming together within the same world. The spinoff is titled SOULM8TE, and Wan spoke to EW about how it'll be different from the M3GAN films. In his words:

Sign me TF up. M3GAN's PG-13 rating allows for a wider audience, but there are fans like myself who wish those movies were Rated R, and could therefore be more bloody. But it sounds like SOULM8TE will be a more adult take, and is inspired by Fatal Attraction aka one of the best '80s movie ever. So I could not be more sold on the forthcoming spinoff. Will we get more bunny boiling? Only time will tell.

The M3GAN franchise being a cautionary tale against the use of AI definitely seems timely, so it's exciting that Blumhouse and James Wan are finding new ways to expand it. Later in that same interview, the horror legend spoke about how SOULM8TE will be different than its predecessors, saying:

This sounds super exciting, and I have to wonder if that'll mean that SOULM8TE will be Rated R. TBD, but if it's going to be a more adult story it might have to be. Even if the violence doesn't need it, the story might necessitate the more adult rating. It certainly seems like those involved in the developing spinoff have a clear vision for it.

M3GAN 2.0 is in theaters now as part of the 2025 movie release list. It's currently unclear when SOULM8TE is going to hit theaters, but we here at CinemaBlend will be paying close attention to here the horror franchise goes next.

If plans had held up, we’d likely be talking about a new Saw film heading to the 2025 movie schedule, maybe even with a trailer released at this point. Unfortunately, with the removal of its sequel from Lionsgate's slate, Saw XI’s rumored cancellation wove itself into beliefs that the revitalized series was in serious jeopardy.

With the recent announcement that Blumhouse is in talks to acquire the long running franchise, one can see why committing to Saw X's follow up has been somewhat of an issue. While this business move would be pretty awesome, it does cause some concern over whether or not that tenth sequel will ever see the light of day.

Blumhouse Is ‘In Talks’ To Buy The Saw Franchise, Which Is Good News

Let’s start off with the good news first, shall we? According to THR, the recurring negotiations between Blumhouse and Lionsgate that sparked up last year might “actually be far enough to close.” It probably won’t surprise anyone that the cause of the back and forth, according to this very report, has been a price tag on the legacy franchise.

Should that matter be close to a resolution, Saw heading to Blumhouse feels like a step in the right direction. Similar to how horror loyalists wish that Jason Blum’s company would take over A Nightmare on Elm Street, bringing Jigsaw back home to series co-creator James Wan could feel nice and cozy for the fans at home.

As the 2022 merger between Wan’s Atomic Monster and Blumhouse has been buzzed about since M3GAN’s trailer released in that same year, that particular investment would also seem to have paid off. But before we cue Charlie Clouser’s iconic theme tune in celebration, there’s something that needs to be discussed sooner than later.

If Blumhouse Buys Saw, Will It Reboot The Series?

So this feels like good news all around, yeah? It does when you take it at face value. But after Saw X’s sequel friendly success at the movies, one has to wonder what’s going to happen to the franchise? If the acquisition goes through, it would be assumed that the Blumhouse brass would want to reboot it in some fashion; potentially a la Halloween 2018’s selective retconning that could disregard some (if not all) the sequels to the 2004 original.

Which poses the question, is Saw XI truly dead and buried? The answer to that scenario is kind of important, as writer Patrick Melton’s Saw XI story tease made the next chapter sound rather intriguing. And with the mojo regained through the returns of Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith, and Costas Mandalor, Saw X’s ending looked to be sending the franchise in a specific direction.

All any Saw fan really wants is for the series to keep going with the sort of energy and excitement that earlier entries brought to the table. That halcyon era before the timeline got too convoluted, the traps were still fresh, and apprentices weren’t hiding in every corner.

If Blumhouse closes this deal, then no matter how that concern above is addressed, the foundation laid out above will be key to the road ahead. But to borrow from John Kramer himself, whether this franchise lives or dies will be determined by this very choice.

The horror genre has been thriving for years, to the delight of fans like me. Some of the best horror movies from recent memory have come from filmmaker James Wan, including The Conjuring franchise (which is streaming with a Max subscription). There were plans for a Crooked Man spinoff, but it looks like the cinematic universe will end with the upcoming horror movie The Conjuring: The Last Rites. And Wan and producer Peter Safran explained why that never happened.

What we know about The Conjuring: The Last Rites is limited, but it looks like it's going to be the final chapter of the long-running franchise. This a bummer for fans who were hoping to see The Crooked Man bring something new to the universe, but it turns out that those plans were actually scrapped thanks to the popularity of The Nun. As Safran revealed in an interview with EW:

So that explains it. As horror fans will know, The Nun became its own franchise, with two different movies starring Taissa Farmiga. That titular villain had one of the scariest senes in The Conjuring 2, even more than its main antagonist The Crooked Man. And as such, plans for the latter creature to gets its own movie eventually faded away.

But just because the Crooked Man movie got scrapped doesn't mean that James Wan doesn't still have passion for that horror project. In that same interview, the Saw filmmaker revealed that he's still got ideas for what that spinoff could be, offering:

Well, I'm going to keep crossing my fingers that his happens. Because while the main Conjuring franchise is ending, perhaps Blumhouse will keep the spinoffs alive. Wan's reputation with horror is stellar, and he's been able to bring bonkers projects like Malignant to life. So maybe he'll get a chance at The Crooked Man sometime in the future... especially because he's clearly so passionate about the project.

The Conjuring: Last Rites will hit theaters September 5th as part of the 2025 movie release list. We'll just have to wait and see if it's actually the end of the entire franchise as a whole.

When it comes to upcoming horror movies, we’re about to see a ton of classic movie monsters return to the fold. From Nosferatu hitting theaters on Christmas to Universal’s new Wolf Man movie, there’s a lot to look forward to. But now it’s also been announced that another Mummy movie is on the way in 2026, and I can’t stop thinking about the Brendan Fraser movies.

Blumhouse Is Making A New The Mummy Movie

Lee Cronin, who previously did 2023’s Evil Dead Rise, is behind the next Mummy movie, per an announcement from Atomic Monster and Blumhouse, which are producing it. It has an April 17, 2026 release date, and Cronin had this to say about the project:

Cronin is penning the script for the new Mummy movie, as well as directing. He’ll have James Wan of The Conjuring movies and Jason Blum on his side as producers, along with his Evil Dead Rise producer John Keville. Other than that, we just have this Instagram teaser:

I think it’s safe to say that the next The Mummy movie is going full horror. While the property has been around way longer than when Brendan Fraser gave off big movie star energy in the 1999 movie, that’s the next movie from the franchise I want instead.

I Think The Next Great Mummy Movie Needs Brendan Fraser

The Mummy movies go way back, from the 1932 Boris Karloff version to the 1959 one with Christopher Lee. Aside from The Mummy trilogy, there’s also the awful 2017 reboot with Tom Cruise that was supposed to help set up the Dark Universe. While I totally get that Hollywood feels that it needs to give the property another try, I would much rather see Brendan Fraser back as Rick O’Connell having a blast in a tomb somewhere than see a generic horror movie about a buried corpse from Egypt coming to life... again.

Over the years, Brendan Fraser has shared his interest in doing another movie from the franchise, and as fans, we’ve been hoping to see a fourth movie in the franchise resurrected. Here are Fraser’s latest comments about being in another sequel for The Mummy from 2023:

Of course, Fraser at the time was speaking from the standpoint of someone who’s surely been asked this for many years and has yet to see a script to show for it. The 2017 reboot really showed what not to do with the franchise (as director of the 1999 Stephen Sommers said he was even insulted by the remake). Blumhouse's reputation with horror lately has been up and down, so while they could strike gold, I know what I'd prefer.

I think the sooner Hollywood realizes that The Mummy’s legend status currently comes from Brendan Fraser, the sooner they’ll have another hit from the franchise. But hey, maybe I’m totally wrong and Lee Cronin’s version will be amazing! We’ll keep you updated here on CinemaBlend.

Twenty years ago, Saw—one of the scariest and best movies of the 2000s—burst onto the scene with its shocking twists and the best brutal traps, introducing audiences to the talents of horror mastermind James Wan. This original 2004 horror movie quickly expanded into a sprawling franchise, spawning nine sequels that ranged widely in quality but consistently delivered inventive and horrifying twists and turns. While reflecting on his complicated relationship with the horror movie franchise he helped create, Wan shared thoughts on possibly returning to direct another installment.

Reflecting on his journey with Saw, the Salem's Lot producer revealed to People that while he feels a deep sense of pride in his creation. And, even though he's somewhat far removed from the IP at this point, he isn’t entirely ruling out the possibility of returning. According to the filmmaker:

While James Wan’s words leave the door open for a potential Saw return, his focus is clearly on new projects that drive his creative vision forward. And let’s face it—he’s got a packed schedule. In the realm of upcoming horror movies, he is primarily producing, with The Conjuring: Last Rites, which concludes Ed and Laran Warren's story, in his popular Conjuring Universe, on the way. Additionally, he's overseeing the highly anticipated sequel M3GAN 2.0. On the directing front, the Malignant filmmaker is set to tackle an adaptation of The Call of Cthulhu and an untitled The Creature from the Black Lagoon project.

The Aquaman director’s producing skills extend beyond film; he’s also made his mark on the small screen. He served as an executive producer for this year's Teacup, a new addition to the lineup of new horror TV shows. The series has been well received, holding a solid 79% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. If it’s renewed for a second season, it’s yet another project that could keep James Wan busy.

While discussing his original creation, the 47-year-old horror mastermind admitted that while he's proud of Saw, he can’t help but see the film through a critical lens. His directorial involvement ended with the first movie, though he’s maintained a connection to the series in various capacities, from executive producing to contributing story ideas, even doing so for the latest film, Saw X. However, since he stepped away, the Australian-born movie maker has never shied away from the franchise's direction:

James Wan acknowledged that he "would’ve taken certain things on a different path" had he stayed with Saw, but his respect for the franchise’s legacy is evident. Now streaming for anyone with a Max subscription or a Peacock subscription, Wan's inaugural isntallmnt remains a landmark in horror, showcasing the creative ingenuity that launched his career. Though his return to the series seems unlikely, fans can be confident that the inventive spirit he brought to the franchise endures in his ever-growing body of work.

Actress Nicole Kidman has had a long and wildly successful career, spanning both film and TV. During that time she's taken a number of gigs in superhero projects, most notably Batman Forever and the Aquaman franchise (both of which are streaming with a Max subscription). She recently explained why she took those gigs, and clarified it wasn't for the money.

Those of us who have been watching the DC movies in order have seen as Kidman went from damsel in distress in Batman Forever to an Atlantean queen and warrior in Aquaman. While speaking with L'Officiel, she spoke about what drew her to these roles. Regarding her time playing Chase Meridian in Joel Schumacher's Batman Forever, she said:

Points were made. It sounds like it was a bucket list moment for Kidman to kiss Val Kilmer's Batman, with or without his signature cowl. So she signed on for Shumacher's first Batman movie, playing journalist and love interest to Bruce Wayne, Chase Meridian.

Kidman makes her entrance in the very first scene of that live-action Batman movie, so it's not like she had a small presence in the blockbuster. Although she did fall into the trop of being the damsel in distress, as she's kidnapped by Jim Carrey and Tom Lee Jones' Riddler and Two-Face during the final act.

Her time in the DCEU as Queen Atlanna was different, as she got a number of thrilling action sequences, especially the one-shot prologue battle of the first Aquaman movie. It turns out that she originally thought it would be a scary movie, and was eager to work with horror legend James Wan. In her words:

While this still hasn't happened yet, they were able to work together on both of the Aquaman movies, with the sequel The Lost Kingdom serving as the final chapter in the DCEU as a whole. Hopefully Kidman and Wan will be able to collaborate on a bonafide horror movie sooner rather than later.

It certainly seem like Kidman's acting choices haven't been motivated by money, and are instead based on what types of projects and directors she'd like to work with. This is likely why she's had such a long career, which has extended into producing acclaimed TV shows like HBO's Big Little Lies and The Undoing.

Nicole Kidman can be seen in Batman Forever and both Aquaman movies by streaming them on Max. For now, check the 2025 movie release dates to plan your trips to the movies in the New Year.

An upcoming book-to-screen adaptation that has been under the radar is the upcoming streaming series Teacup. Even if you are a “fear freak,” like myself, who keeps up to date with all upcoming horror movies and series, you might have missed this one—just like I did. Peacock recently dropped the first teaser for Teacup, a horror series based on Robert R. McCammon’s Stinger and brought to life by The Conjuring Universe mastermind James Wan and his Atomic Monster label. While the teaser has undoubtedly caught my attention with its eerie atmosphere and intriguing premise, it left out a key element of the story that left me feeling a bit let down.

According to Variety, Teacup stars Scott Speedman and Yvonne Strahovski as part of a group of people stranded on a small farm and forced to come together when a mysterious threat arrives. The series, suspiciously described as "inspired" by Robert McCammon's novel, moves the action from a small town in Texas (as in the book) to Georgia. The story unfolds over a single terrifying night, where a massive dome traps the townspeople inside while an alien predator known as "Stinger" hunts them down. It’s got major Predator meets Stephen King’s Under the Dome vibes, capturing the intense atmosphere of the original novel—something I’m hoping Teacup can deliver as well.

Interestingly, the teaser trailer for Teacup doesn’t show the aliens or the dome at all. There is a subtle nod to the dome when a faceless character demonstrates what I assume is the titular "teacup" closing over a group of marbles, but that's about it. Instead, the teaser focuses on the eerie, character-driven aspects, with glimpses of frightened townsfolk, shadowy figures, and an overall sense of foreboding. The horror atmosphere is intense, with dark visuals and hints of chaos that fans of McCammon’s novel will recognize. However, the absence of the dome, which is vital to the novel's claustrophobic tension, leaves a significant part of the story out.

Stinger isn’t just about alien encounters; it explores how ordinary people face extraordinary situations. The dome represents not just physical confinement but emotional and psychological entrapment as well—something the teaser touches on but doesn’t fully convey. Moreover, the title Teacup doesn’t indicate the sci-fi thriller elements of the story. If the show stays true to the book, viewers can expect a mix of alien terror and a fun, B-movie vibe, which the teaser doesn’t quite capture.

Don’t get me wrong—James Wan and his team at Atomic Monster, including producers Michael Clear and Rob Hackett, are masters at creating tension and terror. Their track record with projects like The Conjuring and Archive 81 speaks for itself. Teacup promises to be thrilling, especially with directors like E.L. Katz, who knows how to build suspenseful, unnerving narratives. However, for fans of McCammon’s novel, the absence of the dome and the otherworldly visitors in the trailer could hint that the series might diverge more from the source material than expected.

Teacup, which you’ll be able to enjoy with a Peacock subscription, has all the right ingredients for a memorable horror series. Still, we can only speculate on how the upcoming TV series will handle the beloved elements of its literary inspiration. Here’s hoping that as we get closer to its 2024 TV schedule release date, October 10, more of the story’s signature features—including that all-important dome and the hunters from outer space—will take center stage.

The MCU has become a well-oiled machine over the past decade and change. After dominating at the box office, the shared universe expanded thanks to live-action shows available with a Disney+ subscription. There are endless questions about upcoming Marvel movies, including the future of the Spider-Man franchise. And a wild Spider-Man 4 rumor claims a horror legend is directing, and introducing a beloved character.

We know basically nothing about what Marvel is planning for Spider-Man's future, which is why there are countless theories and rumors circulating online. All three installments of Tom Holland's trilogy was directed by Jon Watts, who dropped out of directing the Fantastic Four movie. But a wild new rumor from scooper MyTimeToShine claims that none other than James Wan may be getting behind the camera, as he is reportedly one of the directors in the mix for the studio. And that rumored project could bring Black Cat into the franchise.

For now we should definitely take this report with a giant grain of salt. But the studio has been keeping tight lipped about Tom Holland's future as Spider-Man. Still, after Watts quit Fantastic Four it wouldn't be all that surprising if he decided to take some space away from the MCU to work on smaller projects. Especially given how wildly successful his trilogy was. 

On top of being a master of horror behind acclaimed projects like Saw, Insidious, The Conjuring, and (more recently) Malignant, James Wan also has experience with blockbusters. He directed both of the Aquaman movies, as well as Furious 7. He would be a great choice to put his spin on Spider-Man, but it's unclear if these rumors will ever come to fruition. 

Fans have spent years watching the Marvel movies in order, and waiting for their favorite character to be adapted on the big screen. While Black Cat has had a long life in Spider-Man comics, animated shows, and video games, she's yet to get her time to shine in live-action. Anne Hathaway nearly played Black Cat in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 4, which was cancelled. So it would be a full circle moment to see Tom Holland's fourth movie follow through with that promise. 

Fans are definitely invested in what comes next for Holland's Peter Parker, especially after the emotional ending of Spider-Man: No Way Home. After the crossovers ended, Doctor Strange's spell removed everyone's memories of Peter. That includes Happy, Ned, and MJ, leaving Spider-Man alone in a post-snap New York City. And having him come face to face with another vigilante in Black Cat might be a fun way to keep the story going. Although we're all hoping that Pete gets to reunite with his friends.

The next MCU movie hitting theaters is Deadpool & Wolverine on July 26th. In the meantime, check out the 2024 movie release dates. 

The 1997 science fiction movie Contact could be remembered for many things. Crafted by the esteemed American astronomer Carl Sagan, the film is celebrated as one of the best space movies ever made and as a highlight in Matthew McConaughey's filmography. Also, Contact's controversial ending continues to spark discussions among fans and critics alike. Amidst these notable attributes, one aspect of the film particularly captivates audiences and filmmakers: the enigmatic mirror scene. This complicated sequence has even puzzled industry veterans, like James Wan, who expressed his fascination with it in a new social media post. But I know how it was executed, so let’s dissect the iconic sequence.

Few scenes have sparked as much intrigue and head-scratching as the iconic mirror scene, directed by Robert Zemeckis. James Wan, the mastermind behind blockbuster horror movies like The Conjuring and Saw, recently took to his Instagram stories, posting a clip of the mirror scene and expressing his bewilderment in a caption that read:

It's a solid question from the Aquaman director. How did they do it? Lets jump into it. 

The Contact Scene In Question

The sequence, which you can see embedded below, features young Ellie (Jena Malone) running up the stairs and into the bathroom to retrieve her father's medication. It culminates in a mirror reflection shot that defies conventional logic and camera placement. 

The scene's genius lies in its seamless blend of practical effects and early digital wizardry. The DVD release of Contact sheds light on the making of this iconic scene through three commentary tracks, including insights from the film's visual effects supervisors, Ken Ralston and Stephen Rosenbaum. Their explanations reveal a meticulously planned sequence designed to convey Ellie's emotional turmoil without the visual presence of her father.

Initially, the concept for this scene was vastly different, Ralston told VFXblog: 

However, as the scene's focus shifted solely towards Ellie, the execution transformed into a masterful blend of practical effects and digital ingenuity.

How Robert Zemeckis Pulled Off the Mirror Scene

The final product combines two shots and one still image, cleverly blended to give the impression of a single, uninterrupted shot. Shot A captures Ellie's sprint up the stairs and down the hallway, ending with her reaching out to a nonexistent cabinet handle. The camera operator used a Vista Vision camera to track this movement in reverse.

In Shot B, the camera faces a blue screen placed where the mirror should be on the cabinet. It pulls back to match the pace and movement of Shot A, ensuring that the transition between the two shots appears seamless and continuous.

The pivotal moment occurs when Ellie reaches for the cabinet handle, which ingeniously emerges from the lower-left corner of the frame as the camera pulls back from the blue screen. This clever manipulation tricks the viewer's perception, making the handle's appearance feel unexpected and natural.

The popular YouTube channel The Corridor Crew did a brilliant breakdown and reaction of the scene, if you want to go into more detail. 

It's hardly surprising that James Wan remains amazed by the ingenuity of the mirror scene in Contact. This sequence was the result of careful planning by the director, cinematographer, and visual effects team to maximize its emotional impact through visual storytelling. Given the lasting impression it continues to make nearly thirty years later, it seems all involved achieved their goal because we are still talking about it as one of the best movies of the 1990s.

Check out our 2024 movie schedule to see what other exciting movies are coming to a theater near you. 

For all that Jason Voorhees is a scary movie icon who strikes fear (and machetes) in the hearts of his victims, Friday the 13th’s lawsuits and legal troubles over the years have been as much a horror as anything else about the franchise. Thankfully, TV fans will be taking a trip to Crystal Lake with Bryan Fuller and Peacock, and now Jason Blum is back in the conversation, and he has one of the best ideas possible for which director should spearhead the next big screen feature if his production company ever lands the rights.

Seeing as how Friday the 13th is one of the best horror movies of all-time, the next effort should have someone equally noteworthy behind the camera. Speaking with Collider about his ongoing hopes for Blumhouse Productions to acquire rights to the slasher classic, he suggested one of the genre’s current hitmakers would be perfect for it. In Blum’s words:

Oh man, oh man, oh man. The idea of having James Wan in the driver’s seat for a Friday the 13th movie seems like a legitimate match made in viscera-soaked heaven. And one doesn’t even need to be a super-fan of either Wan’s entire filmography or all of the Friday sequels to grasp how sweet this could be. 

One of the biggest issues in the world of horror, whether it’s reboots or wholly original projects, is that projects rarely get sizable budgets, and much of the money that does get spent goes to securing rights and marketing, with the cast and special effects also taking a chunk of the dough. And when all of that comes into play, there’s rarely enough left over to land top-notch filmmakers to get behind the camera, with plenty of promising horror movies being helmed by first- or second-time directors that don’t necessarily have a “vision” yet.

But James Wan rather quickly established himself as someone with the skills to bring a variety of genre tales to life, from Saw’s slasher vibes to Insidious and The Conjuring’s supernatural scares to Malignant’s slow-burn approach. And his work with the Aquaman films and Fast X proved he can still deliver even when the budgets are huge. 

Blumhouse is in the process of promoting Jeff Wadlow’s upcoming horror movie Imaginary, and is still riding the waves of success of Five Nights at Freddy’s (and Night Swim more recently, to a lesser extent). Meanwhile, James Wan is coming off of the highly erratic production and release of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which fizzled at the box office in light of James Gunn and Peter Sarafan’s rebooted DCU. But that was outside of his impact, so it likely won't dissuade fans from watching everything else he does in the future. And if that "everything" includes resurrecting Jason Voorhees in theaters, he'll earn every Camp Crystal Lake badge possible.

Though nothing is actually moving forward with a new Friday the 13th movie just yet, it's only a matter of time before it happens. Until then, remember to hug your mother.

In 2018, one year after Jason Momoa’s Arthur Curry came to the forefront in Justice League, Aquaman was released in theaters (and can currently be streamed with a Max subscription). But what some of you may not know is that the DC movie starring Jason Momoa was one of two possible stories that audiences could have seen. While David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick and Will Beall wrote the movie that was ultimately delivered to the masses, Kurt Johnstad, one of the writers behind the Zack Snyder-helmed Netflix movie Rebel Moon, penned his own Aquaman script. Now Johnstad has opened up to CinemaBlend about this script, including the Westerns it was based on and why director James Wan decided not to use it.

I had the pleasure of speaking with Johnstad in conjunction with the release of Rebel Moon to the Netflix movie schedule, and with Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom also now playing in theaters and wrapping up the DC Extended Universe, I inquired about the writer’s past with DC’s King of the Seven Seas. He started off by saying that while he’s never seen Aquaman (which has strictly been a “timing thing”), he loves Jason Momoa and described James Wan as “fantastic.” Johnstad then opened up about how he came aboard Aquaman with these words:

An Excalibur-inspired Aquaman movie was enough to pique my interest, but Kurt Johnstad name-dropping The Outlaw Josey Wales and The Man With No Name really had me wondering what could have been. Both are Clint Eastwood-centric, with the former 1976 movie also being directed by the man who played the title protagonist, and the latter being the actor’s character from the Dollars Trilogy, which consisted of A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Furthermore, this would have been a darker take on the Aquaman mythology, which apparently played into why this version of the movie never got made, judging by what Johnstad said next:

While Kurt Johnstad could have gone along with James Wan’s suggestions on where to pivot the Aquaman story, he didn’t want to compromise the vision he’s already started putting together. So in the end, Warner Bros. requested that he cease work on the superhero movie, and the more lighthearted script penned by Will Beall and David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick (who wrote The Conjuring 2 and The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It) was greenlit instead. But Johnstad doesn’t hold any ill will towards this creative endeavor turning out the way it did, and he summarized his short stint on Aquaman to me as follows:

It sounds like Kurt Johnstad’s version of Aquaman would have made a nice companion piece to Zack Snyder’s Justice League, in that we would have seen Arthur Curry’s mission to find his trident taking some darker turns. Johnstad’s mention of The Man With No Name also has me thinking that Arthur would have embarked on this journey by himself, or at least allies like Mera and Vulko wouldn’t have factored into the story as heavily as they did in the finalized Aquaman movie we got. Although Aquaman earned mixed critical reception, it proved to be a commercial powerhouse, making $1.152 billion worldwide and becoming the highest-grossing DC movie of all time.

Alas, its sequel hasn’t performed nearly as well, with Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom earning tepid reviews and barely making a splash at the box office. With the DCEU now over and the new DC Universe shared continuity getting up to start, it’s unclear what the future holds in store for this character, and there are rumblings that Jason Momoa will shift to playing the antihero Lobo. Meanwhile, Netflix subscribers can see Kurt Johnstad’s work in Rebel Moon — Part One: A Child of Fire on the streaming platform now, and Part Two: The Scargiver will follow on April 19, 2024.

For the last 12 months, the outlook on the slate of DC Extended Universe releases has been what could be called nihilistic – and it’s perfectly understandable. James Gunn and Peter Safran, the new co-CEOs of DC Studios, kicked off the year by announcing that the franchise was starting up a whole new era, and while the intention was generating excitement for the future, it also had the effect of rendering DC’s 2023 blockbusters as part of the past. David F. Sandberg’s Shazam! Fury Of The Gods, Andy Muschietti’s The Flash, Angel Manuel Soto’s Blue Beetle all arrived in theaters and audiences didn’t particularly care. Despite strong qualities in each, none managed to generate buzz, and die-hards have disengaged without the ability to meaningfully speculate about the future.

That strange journey finally brings us to James Wan’s Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom, which seems destined to become an oddity in blockbuster history. It was merely five years ago that its predecessor debuted in theaters worldwide, and it continues to reign as the big box office hit ever made based on DC Comics; now, it’s sequel appears ready to follow suit with the disappointing big screen runs of the last three DC releases. It’s a wild contrast that should fascinate industry nerds for years.

As such, it perhaps would feel more poetic if the movie were truly awful, or conversely, it might have been cool to see the DCEU go out with a big bang of excellence. Instead, it’s just another one of the many middle-of-the-road superhero features we’ve seen thus far in the 2020s. The talented cast successfully keeps the audience engaged, with the chemistry between Jason Momoa and Patrick Wilson being a particular highlight, but it’s also so overstuffed with all-CGI chase and battle sequences that they eventually become monotonous – which doesn’t do any favors for the final hero/villain showdown.

Picking up in the wake of the first film, the story finds Arthur Curry a.k.a. Aquaman (Jason Momoa) dealing with two major life changes, as he is a first-time parent with Mera (Amber Heard) and constantly stressed/bored serving his role as the king of Atlantis. Garnering a great deal of his attention is a widespread illness in the seven undersea kingdoms that is caused by rising ocean temperatures, and it’s discovered that the root of everything is a sinister effort fueled by the use of a destructive element called orichalcum.

The individual behind this sinister plot is none other than David Hyde a.k.a. Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II). Since being rescued adrift at sea by Randall Park’s Dr. Stephen Shin (See: the Aquaman mid-credits scene), the two men have worked together to try and find Atlantis – with Black Manta’s aim being to kill Aquaman and everyone he loves in revenge for the death of his father. During a research mission, Manta discovers a broken legendary weapon known as the Black Trident, and we he assembles the two pieces, he brokers a deal with an ancient evil that offers to aid him in killing the movie’s titular hero in exchange for help escaping from an icy tomb where he has been imprisoned for centuries.

Jason Momoa and Patrick Wilson make a fun duo in the two-hander adventure.

In order to find and stop Black Manta, Aquaman turns to the one person he knows who has had dealings with the villain in the past, his imprisoned brother Orm (Patrick Wilson), and this activates what turns out to be the best aspect of Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom. The attempt at a Romancing The Stone vibe didn’t quite connect due to the lacking vibes between Jason Momoa and Amber Heard, Momoa and Wilson have a classic Type A/Type B dynamic that serves the film well. Their antagonistic relationship in Aquaman didn’t allow that blockbuster to fully take advantage, but the sequel plays with an intriguing dynamic between them – both in that they have an unnurtured sibling bond as half-brothers and in that they have opposite view points on the Atlantean throne.

The evolving rapport between Aquaman and Orm ends up being its greatest strength, as it’s engaging to see them begin to accept each other’s viewpoints and mature as a result. Momoa and Wilson also prove to have matching comedic timing, with the latter regularly proving to be an enjoyable straight man opposite his scene partner.

The action in Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom ends up being overwhelming and lacks the flair one expects from James Wan.

The character work in Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom is solid – and the film’s biggest flaw is the impression delivered that James Wan and screenwriter David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick didn’t have enough confidence in it. Rather than ever letting us really sit with the heroes and villains, the movie seems to play to the lowest common denominator in regards to audience attention spans. I can’t say for certain because I wasn’t constantly checking my watch throughout my screening, but it certainly feels like no more than 10 minutes ever goes by without a fight breaking out or the protagonists fleeing from extreme danger.

It runs out of steam long before the big third act chase/battle, and while volume is definitely an issue, it’s also notable that the film doesn’t feature the same kind of visual panache as Aquaman. Reflecting on James Wan’s first comic book blockbuster, there are some brilliant long takes as the characters fight on rooftops in Sicily and chilling terror in the encounter with the monsters of The Trench, but there is ultimately only one scene in Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom that stands out with that kind of energy (a trident duel between Aquaman and Black Manta, which is awesome but far too brief).

There is some imaginative design work but simply too much VFX in Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom.

A significant part of the problem is an over-reliance on CGI. Aesthetically overall, there is some stellar design work in the world-building and props, and one can certainly appreciate the visual effects work that brings to life strange undersea characters like Storm the seahorse and Topo the cephalopod, but much of the film also feels artificial. Strides have been made, but as seen earlier this year with the live-action Little Mermaid, the industry still isn’t at a point where characters can be realistically featured “underwater” when water isn’t used on set. (James Cameron seems to be the only person in the industry who recognizes this).

Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom is not bad, but it is messier than desirable. It’s a strange title as the final chapter of the DC Extended Universe, and neither an argument for the canon to continue nor evidence of why the coming reboot is necessary. It’s a mediocre addition to 21st century comic book movies, and while it’s difficult to totally dismiss or hate, it is certainly underwhelming.

While there was a time when Jason Momoa was best known from TV shows like Baywatch: Hawaii, Stargate: Atlantis and Game of Thrones, these days, the actor primarily claim to fame is playing Aquaman in the DC Extended Universe. But Momoa’s connection to the character isn’t just limited to onscreen work, at least when it comes to the upcoming DC movie Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. He also has a ‘Story By credit on the sequel, and while speaking with CinemaBlend, director James Wan revealed the aspect of the actor he leaned into the most while working on Aquaman 2.

Our own Sean O’Connell had the opportunity to speak with Wan ahead of The Lost Kingdom’s arrival, with this entry on the 2023 release schedule marking the conclusion of the DCEU era. During the conversation, Sean asked what it was like for Wan getting to collaborate with Momoa on the sequel’s story, as the filmmaker was also involved with this portion of the creative process alongside scriptwriter David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick and Momoa’s friend Thomas Pa'a Sibbett. Wan started off by saying:

Aquaman 2 was officially greenlit in February 2019 following Aquaman hitting $1 billion worldwide and becoming DC’s highest-grossing movie ever. But even before the sequel started moving forward, Jason Momoa thought up a story idea with Thomas Pa'a Sibbett for it and pitched his vision to Warner Bros. executives. It was compelling enough that James Wan and David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick crafted the entire narrative out of what the other men came up with, and by May 2019, Momoa shared that the Aquaman 2 story was “locked.”

In the years to follow, among the things we learned about Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom was that in addition to placing Black Manta as the main antagonist and pairing Arthur Curry and his brother Orm together as allies, we’ll also see Arthur taking care of his newborn son. Given that Momoa is also a father, James Wan felt it was important to highlight that aspect of the real man onto the character he’s been playing since Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. As Wan told CinemaBlend:

While it remains to be seen if that disturbing rumor concerning Aquaman’s son comes true, it is nice to hear that him being a father will get a significant amount of screen time alongside exploring his duties as Atlantis’ king. Additionally, Jason Momoa said back in 2022 that The Lost Kingdom will nod at one of his real-life passions, climate change. Mom is joined in the Aquaman 2 cast by returning faces like Patrick Wilson, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Nicole Kidman and Amber Heard (albeit in a reduced role), and newcomers like Vincent Regan and Indya Moore.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom opens in theaters on December 20, so feel free to stream Aquaman (or any of the DC movies in order) beforehand with a Max subscription. Following its release, the DC Universe Chapter One slate will get underway with projects like Creature Commandos and Superman: Legacy, and it’s rumored that Momoa will retire from being Aquaman and start playing Lobo in this new continuity.

Secrecy on a film set is incredibly difficult. We keep hearing stories from cast members and crew who share details about specifics the fight to protect spoilers, be it Rachel Zegler talking about the Snow White dress that was photographed by paparazzi, or Ryan Reynolds making up photoshopped leaks to combat the piracy shots coming off of the set of Deadpool 3. And sometimes, the greatest culprit… is the film’s actual star. Such was the case when Jason Momoa, star of the upcoming DC film Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, shared video of himself on the Warner Bros. studio lot, interacting with tourists and – from the looks of the video – spoiling the fact that Ben Affleck was filming scenes for the movie. 

Classic Momoa. The video shows the Aquaman actor leaving one of the sound stages on the Burbank lot of Warner Bros., and running into a shuttle of touring visitors. And he makes jokes that the cat’s out of the bag, as he walks toward a trailer with “B.A.” on the side… and Ben Affleck inside. Now, Affleck already has appeared in The Flash, so having him show up in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom – the last feature in the DCEU – makes sense. But given the opportunity, I had to ask James Wan what his day becomes when he learns that something like that has happened on set. And he jokingly played dumb, telling CinemaBlend:

Good try, sir. There’s no way that James Wan learned about this overshare on behalf of Jason Momoa courtesy of friends texting him. At the same time, there’s probably not a whole lot that Wan can do to reign his superstar in. Momoa is what he is, and fans have embraced his off-the-cuff approach to everything – whether he’s beefing with Chris Hemsworth on TikTok or painting the nails of a corpse in that bizarro Fast X scene. You hire Momoa hoping to get the full Momoa, and that’s what Wan brings to life in the Aquaman films. 

So, we still expect Ben Affleck to play a small part in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, just as he played a small part in The Flash. This movie will mark the end of what fans have dubbed The SnyderVerse, given the fact that James Gunn and Peter Safran will be taking over for future DC movies. There’s the strong possibility that Momoa can stay a part of the growing DC universe in another role. Possibly Lobo, if rumors are to be believed. But for now, we wait until December 22 to say farewell to Momoa’s version of Arthur Curry, and go on one last adventure through Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.

The superhero genre continues to be a powerful force in the entertainment industry, thanks to studios putting a focus on those projects with various cinematic universes. The DCEU as we know it is expected to come to a close with Aquaman 2, which was delayed a number of times over the years. The film was directed by horror icon James Wan, whose post-Aquaman 2 comments are bad news for DC fans. Although horror buffs like myself might be psyched.

There are countless questions about the upcoming DC movies, especially since a new shared universe is being formed by co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran. The next slate of projects is titled Gods and Monsters, although the plans for Aquaman’s potential future are a mystery. Wan recently spoke to Collider about what’s next for his career, seemingly hinting that another horror flick might be up his sleeve. In the Conjuring filmmaker’s words:

Do you hear that sound? It’s countless horror fans cheering, especially given some of Wan’s recent horror flicks like Malignant (which is available with a Max subscription). Although it might be bad news for superhero aficionados who want to see more of Arthur Curry’s underwater adventures on the big screen.

While it doesn’t seem like James Wan has any concrete plans for his next horror movie, it sounds like he’s interested in switching things up– especially regarding the size of his various directorial outings. Since it doesn’t get much bigger than a superhero movie, can you blame him? Especially given Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom has been such a long road to theaters. 

James Wan has been behind some of the best horror movies of all time, with credits that include Insidious, The Conjuring, the original Saw movie, and more. So the idea that he'll be back in the genre is definitely thrilling for moviegoers who want him to scare the ever living crap out of them again. Of course, we’ll have to wait and see what type of projects Wan officially signs up to get behind the camera for.

Of course, there are endless questions about what’s coming next for DC, and if the Aquaman franchise will possibly return in the new shared universe. Gunn revealed three actors who will be reprising their roles in the DCU, and Jason Momoa’s Arthur Curry was not on that list. In fact, there are rumors he’ll be playing antihero Lobo, especially after Momoa posted an excited video after meeting with the studio.

Aquaman 2 will hit theaters on December 20th. In the meantime, check out the 2024 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience. 

The DCEU has always been chock full of twists, both behind the scenes and in front of the camera. The next upcoming DC movie hitting theaters is Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which will mark the final installment of the current shared universe before a new one begins. Filmmaker James Wan is once again behind the camera for the sequel, and recently addressed that popular (but extremely dark) theory about Aquaman 2. Let’s break it all down.

What we know about Aquaman 2 is fairly limited, so there are a number of theories and rumors about what’s going to happen in the long-awaited blockbuster. The trailer for Aquaman 2 teased the conflict with Black Manta, inspired by a similar conflict from the comics. Those familiar with his adventures on the page are particularly worried that the villain will end up killing Arthur Curry’s young son. James Wan recently appeared at CCXP23 (via YouTube), where he was asked explicitly about that dark rumor. He responded coyly, sharing: 

No kidding, Mr. Wan. But since Manta killed Arthur’s son in the DC comics, it doesn’t seem totally out of the question for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. We’ll just have to wait and see when the movie arrives this Christmas. That’s only one of the major questions currently surrounding the DC flick.

James Wan’s comments are sure to increase fan theories about what will or won’t happen to the cast of Aquaman 2 during its runtime. Fans are curious about how the movie goes down, including Amber Heard’s reduced role as Mera. Indeed, fans have noticed how Heard has been noticeably missing from Aquaman 2’s trailers, seemingly as a result of backlash surrounding her legal battle against Johnny Depp. 

While there is comic precedence for Aquaman’s son to be killed, it would definitely be a dark twist for The Lost Kingdom. This is especially true since the movie is rated PG-13, and is supposed to be pretty family friendly. James Wan himself said that would be super dark for the underwater franchise, but he didn’t actually deny that it was in his movie.

As previously mentioned, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will end up being the final chapter of the DCEU as we know it. James Gunn and Peter Safran were named co-CEOs of the studio, and are crafting a brand new shared universe. Given this information, it should be fascinating to see if moviegoers actually turn out in theaters to see the new DC flick. It looks like the sequel will be the hulking actor’s final bow as Aquaman, although Momoa has had talks with Gunn about his DC future and is rumored to be playing Lobo moving forward.

Aqauman and the Lost Kingdom will hit theaters on December 20th. In the meantime, check out the 2024 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.

We're now getting toward the end of 2023, but not fading from memory any time soon is the film that proved to be the first big hit of the year. Arriving in theaters domestically on a massive wave of social media-generated buzz, M3GAN was a massive box office hit, making $181 million before the end of its big screen run around the world. To the surprise of nobody, a sequel was given the greenlight shortly after the movie's release, and producer James Wan is teasing that M3GAN 2.0 will deliver a story that is timely and further tapped into what has become a major subject of debate: artificial intelligence.

Wan is currently preparing audiences for the release of his latest directorial effort, Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom, but he recently provided Empire Magazine (via Comic Book) with an update on the developing M3GAN sequel. The movie is more than a year from its scheduled release date, with Universal Pictures having put it on the calendar for early 2025, but he noted that the project is putting a specific focus on societal concerns about A.I. Said the filmmaker,

SPOILER WARNING: The rest of this article contains spoilers for M3GAN. If you have not yet seen the film, proceed at your own risk!

James Wan's comments certainly line up with the franchise direction that is teased at the end of M3GAN. For those who don't recall, the film concludes with the titular doll being destroyed, but the final shot teases the possibility that her coding may live on in the virtual assistant known as Elise. She can likely do some serious damage now that she is not limited to a physical form... though it's hard to imagine that we won't see M3GAN back as the familiar killer doll we fell in love with back in January.

M3GAN 2.0 is being produced by both James Wan and Jason Blum, two of the most influential names in modern horror, and Akela Cooper, who wrote M3GAN, is back to write the sequel. Allison Williams and Violet McGraw are expected to return as Gemma and her niece Cady, but a director has not yet been announced.

Jason Blum has previously said that the production of M3GAN 2.0 is not being rushed, and filming isn't going to start until the conclusion of the on-going SAG-AFTRA strike. That being said, if the movie is going to be ready in time for the scheduled January 17, 2025 release date, cameras will likely need to start rolling in the first half of next year.

Stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for all of the latest updates about M3GAN 2.0, and learn about all of the scary features set for release in the coming weeks and months with our Upcoming Horror Movies guide.

The first Aquaman made over $1 billion at the global box office, making it the biggest hit of the modern DC film universe. One might expect that fans would be looking forward to the sequel with anticipation, and but that hasn’t necessarily been the case. Numerous delays, controversy surrounding the role (or lack thereof) of Amber Heard, the fact that the movie comes at the tail end of the current DC universe before a reboot, and simply a less-than-stellar buzz have all combined to create a movie surrounded by negativity. Director James Wan is aware of what’s being said, but he’s not worrying about it much.

The sequel to Aquaman was given the green light quickly after the first movie became a massive hit, but it’s now been five years since that movie came out. James Wan tells Empire (via The Direct) that he’s been working on the film for nearly that entire time, and while he’s simply happy to have the movie coming out, he does call it the “noisiest” movie he’s ever been part of. Wan said… 

A lot of the “noise” surrounded the role of Amber Heard in the sequel. There was a concerted effort by some who took the side of Johnny Depp in the dueling defamation lawsuits that wanted to see Heard removed entirely from the film. Petitions were started that argued for exactly that. Heard’s role has reportedly been significantly reduced compared to the first movie, but Wan claims that was due to the story he wanted to tell and did not have anything to do with Heard herself.

Beyond Heard, however, there seems to be a general negative buzz around Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Perhaps because a lot of people know that the current DC Universe is coming to an end, there just isn’t the excitement for the movie there might otherwise be. But Wan says that whatever all the negativity for the movie right now might mean, it will all fade away eventually, and the movie itself will still be there. He continued… 

The Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom release date is still a few weeks away, which may in the end just mean more negativity between now and then. But Wan is almost certainly correct that eventually the movie will stand alone and it will be judged on its own merits. 

Comic book movies continue to be produced in quick succession, with multiple studios having their own cinematic universe. While the MCU is going strong, the next upcoming DC movie is Aquaman 2, which will be the final installment of the DCEU as we know it. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom director James Wan recently discussed the movie’s horror influences, and now I’m even more excited for the DC sequel. Bring on the underwater jumpscares!

Filmmaker James Wan is horror royalty, known for his work on Saw, The Conjuring and more. But he’s also done genre work in blockbusters like Furious 7 and (of course) Aquaman. His DC sequel has been a long time coming, and fans are eager to see how it all shakes out. Wan spoke to Empire about how his horror roots continue to influence the Aquaman franchise, offering:

Honestly, sign me up. As hardcore horror buff, I love when the genre ends up factoring into other types of movies. And since Wan is a master of tension and fear, I can’t wait to see how it influenced the events of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Luckily it’ll be released fairly soon.

This news is sure to be exciting for fans of both horror and the Aquaman franchise. The first movie brought the scares with the Trench sequences, which featured terrifying deep sea monsters. A Trench spinoff was originally announced, but those plans were eventually scrapped. But perhaps Wan is going to use those concepts during the sequence he’s teasing for Aquaman 2. In his same interview, he spoke about how classic horror influenced the visual language of the DC  sequel, saying:

Is it December yet? Aquaman 2 has been delayed a number of times over the years, to the dismay of moviegoers. But news about how much horror is influencing the project might help to reignite excitement about the blockbuster. That and the ongoing discourse surrounding Amber Heard’s role as Mera.

The odds might be stacked against Aquaman 2 regarding how well it’ll ultimately perform at the box office. Namely because new co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran are creating a new version of the DC Universe. Jason Momoa might be playing a new role, which might result in waning interest in seeing The Lost Kingdom. Indeed, movies like The Flash failed to perform at the box office. 

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will hit theaters on December 20th. In the meantime, check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience. 

Thanks to the legal battles between Amber Heard and Johnny Depp, we know a lot more about the behind-the-scenes workings of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom than we do for most movies that are still a couple of months from release. One of the biggest pieces of news was Heard claiming that her role in the sequel actually shrank over time. James Wan has explained his reasoning for Mera’s smaller role previously, but admits that this did result in her role shrinking over time.

Jason Momoa and Amber Heard worked together throughout the first Aquaman movie, but her character Mera is largely absent from the Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom trailer, and reports are her role in the sequel is much smaller. Director James Wan told Empire (via The Direct) that he had a plan from the outset to make romance a major part of the first film, but not the sequel, which is why Heard’s role was paired down as the script went through revisions. The director explained…

During the defamation trials of Depp and Heard it was suggested that there was an issue of chemistry between Momoa and Heard that led to the decision to pair down the role of Hera for the sequel. But according to Wan he was always planning to make a movie that would focus on the characters of Aquaman and Orm, and that meant shrinking the role of Mera to make more room for Patrick Wilson’s Orm. 

Certainly, whatever the reason, it’s understandable that Amber Heard could be frustrated, as it sounds like she filmed more scenes for the Aquaman sequel, that ended up on the cutting room floor. One doesn’t imagine any actor likes to see their work disappear. And considering Heard’s situation at the time, and the fact that there were loud corners of social media calling for her removal from Aquaman 2, it would be impossible not to see a connection.

According to James Wan, however, Amber Heard’s statements were accurate, but the reason for them just wasn’t clear to her. It seems the director had a specific idea to make a buddy comedy-style film and hey, who doesn’t want to see a superhero movie inspired by Tango & Cash? That honestly sounds like a film that could be a lot of fun.

The DC Universe has had plenty of peaks and valleys since it began with Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel. There’s been some major behind the scenes shake ups, including James Gunn and Peter Safran recently being named co-CEOs of the DCU. But a number of upcoming DC movies were already in the can when that change in leadership occurred, including Aquaman 2. It turns out that one of the franchise’s wildest characters has an expanded role in The Lost Kingdom, and I’m digging director Jame Wan’s tease.

The first Aquaman movie was a success partly because it had a unique visual language and James Wan did some excellent world building. One fan favorite character was the giant drumming octopus, which was featured prominently in the first movie’s marketing. James Wan spoke to Empire about the sequel, and revealed that said Octopus (named Topo) is actually a full fledged character in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. In his words:

Honestly, sign me up. The Aquaman franchise is decidedly more bonkers than other corners of the old DCEU, and it sounds like James Wan is definitely going to be bringing on the weird with the long-awaited DC sequel. Case in point: Topo’s larger role.

Wan’s comments to Empire are a prime example of what he learned from the first Aquaman movie. The Saw filmmaker was able to see what audiences responded to, and then deliver on what they might like to see. And I can’t wait to see Topo’s scenes with Arthur Curry in Aquaman 2.

So what was it like filming those new Topo sequences, especially since the character needs CGI to truly be brought to life? James Wan shared that directing Momoa, who is rumored to be switching from Aquaman to Lobo in the new DCU. As Wan put it:

Is it December 20th yet? These scenes sound super fun, especially with Jason Momoa flexing his comedic muscles once more. Hopefully Topo also gets involved in whatever action the upcoming DC flick will bring to theaters.

Wan’s comments to Empire come as fans are still questioning how big certain roles in The Lost Kingdom are. Specifically, there are rumors that Amber Heard’s Mera is barely in the project. After all, she was noticeably missing from Aquaman 2’s trailer. 

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will hit theaters on December 20th. In the meantime, check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience. 

The winter’s Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom may have drawn the short end of the stick when it comes to upcoming DC movies considering the flick directed by James Wan will mark the final entry in a universe that is about to press the reboot button. Ahead of Jason Momoa’s latest outing as Arthur Curry hitting theaters in just a couple of months, Wan spoke to his thoughts on returning to direct a third Aquaman movie. 

Along with talking about a host of rumors around Aquaman 2’s production, James Wan shared his current stance on returning to Atlantis for another sequel after The Lost Kingdom. In his words: 

During an interview with Empire, Wan left things open-ended when it comes to his future with the Aquaman movies. As he said, he’s actually never ended up helming a second sequel to one of his franchises, which of course includes the hugely popular Conjuring universe, but he’s not one to discount an opportunity before he has the chance to explore the possibilities. You can check out the trailer for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom below: 

As it stands right now, there is no Aquaman 3 in development as Warner Bros. certainly awaits how The Lost Kingdom does at the box office this holiday season. The movie was in production amidst Warner Bros seeing massive changes when its parent company merged with Discovery Inc. to form Warner Bros. Discovery, led by new CEO David Zaslav, in early 2022. About a year ago, James Gunn and Peter Safran were named the co-chairmen and CEOs of DC Studios.

Early this year, Safran and Gunn unveiled their new DCU Chapter One, which includes reboots for characters like Superman, Green Lantern and Supergirl, and so far there's no Aquaman to be found. Gunn has named some established characters being carried over to the new universe, including Xolo Maridueña’s Blue Beetle, Viola Davis’ Amanda Waller, and John Cena’s Peacemaker, but Momoa’s Aquaman has yet to be mentioned. The actor has shared that he thinks Aquaman “will be involved” with the universe’s future, but it truly seems up in the air for the time being. 

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom also stars Patrick Wilson, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Dolph Lundgren, Temuera Morrison, Nicole Kidman, Amber Heard and Randall Park. What’s next for Momoa’s superhero will likely come down to how the upcoming sequel does with audiences when it hits big screens this December 20. 

There’s been a lot of talk buzzing around Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom over the year, and not just regarding the actual story content of the upcoming DC movie. For one thing, there have been various reports about the sequel being plagued with behind-the-scenes issues, but Aquaman 2 also comes as DC Studios is preparing to launch a new shared continuity, with this 2023 movie release being the last official entry in the DCEU. Now director James Wan has opened up about how he’s handling these rumors and shakeups.

Starting off, when it comes to the claims of studio interference and significant reshoots on The Lost Kingdom, James Wan acknowledged to Empire that while he’s usually able to maintain a level head when it comes to chatter concerning his projects, it has been tough for him not being able to directly comment on things that he knows not to be true, saying:

Among the more recent wild claims surrounding Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’s production is that Jason Momoa once allegedly got drunk, dressed as Johnny Depp and tried to get Amber Heard fired, to which a DC rep responded by saying that Momoa “conducted himself in a professional manner at all times on the set” of the sequel. Back in June, it was also reported that Aquaman 2 had gone through at least three rounds of reshoots and “several uninspired test screenings.” Plus, due to both its various scheduling changes and an alleged decree from DC Studios heads James Gunn and Peter Safran, Batman will no longer appear in The Lost Kingdom.

Yet despite all this, James Wan stated that while Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom didn’t turn out the way he originally envisioned, this is par for the course when it comes to his filmmaking process, and it sounds like he’s content with how the sequel turned out. In his words:

Then there’s the changing DC films and TV landscape to consider. With the exception of people like Viola Davis’ Amanda Waller, John Cena’s Peacemaker and Xolo Maridueña’s Blue Beetle sticking around, the character lineup in new DC Universe will look all-new, and there’ve been rumblings that Jason Momoa might transition from playing Aquaman to Lobo. As such, Aquaman 3 seems far from a guarantee right now, but Wan is nonetheless open to returning to DC’s underwater depths for another outing. As he put it:

James Wan said in June 2023 that the plans for the new DC Universe didn’t impact how he put Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom together since it’s “pretty far removed from the rest of the world,” and that even with all these continuity changes on the way, people should still see the sequel because it’s a “very standalone movie.” We’ll see what the final product has to offer when Aquaman 2 hits theaters on December 20. After that, the animated Max series Creature Commandos will kick off the DC Universe’s Chapter One slate, followed by Superman: Legacy’s theatrical release on July 11, 2025.

The next chapter in Arthur Curry’s story is getting closer to reaching shore, as Aquman and the Lost Kingdom is set to hit theaters in just a few months. This water-soaked installment will see Jason Momoa return to play the lead role, and he’ll be joined by a number of other returning stars from the first movie as well. However, director James Wan has officially confirmed that one franchise alum didn’t return for this latest installment – Willem Dafoe, who played the role of Vulko in the first movie. In addition to giving that confirmation, Wan also provided an explanation for why Dafoe didn’t make the trip to Atlantis this time. 

Yes, Aquaman 2 does already have an impressive cast that – in addition to Jason Momoa – includes the likes of Patrick Wilson, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Nicole Kidman. However, pretty much any film would be blessed to count Wilem Dafoe amongst its ranks. James Wan discussed the actor’s absence from the highly anticipated sequel while chatting with EW and explained that it was simply Dafoe’s schedule that kept him from signing on. As disappointing as that may be for some, the Conjuring director went on to explain that Vulko’s exclusion did allow for one positive development: 

In the original 2018 film, Vulko was a mentor to Arthur Curry, training him for years while also serving as the vizier within the kingdom of Atlantis, By doing so, he helped the half-human/half-Atlantean man get in touch with his undersea roots. Vulko remained loyal to the legacy of Queen Atlanna amid Prince Orm’s takeover of the Atlantean throne and was imprisoned for that. By the end of the movie, Vulko was still alive and, like many of his constituents, he opted to follow newly installed king Arthur.

It’s quite understandable just why Wilem Dafoe (who found Aquaman to be different from his Spider-Man experience) was unable to return, as he’s been quite busy over these past few years. Some of the movies he has on the horizon – including Poor Things and Inside – had production schedules that overlapped with the DC film’s. Though it’s a bit of a bummer that he won’t be popping into the final DCEU movie, it’s at least great that his omission opened up more narrative possibilities for Nicole Kidman’s Atlanna. While she played a solid role in the first movie, the Lost Kingdom trailer seems to tease that she’ll be pivotal to the events of the sequel. It’ll be quite interesting to see how James Wan and screenwriter David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick add layers to the character. The prospect of Kidman being given more to do is also exciting.

And of course, the presence of most of the other original stars is sure to enthuse fans. Just about everyone is returning, including Amber Heard, who’s reprisal of Mera has been subject to speculation as of late. Nevertheless, Heard did appear in the trailer (briefly), and fans had thoughts about that. James Wan fielded a question about Mera’s reduced role being due to the attention surrounding Heard and her legal issues with ex-husband Johnny Depp. However, it would seem that nothing changed with his story plans in that regard, as Mera was apparently always meant to take a backseat this time around. That’s because this story put Arthur and Orm’s relationship at the forefront. 

The future of the Aquaman franchise seems uncertain, with the launch of the DCU franchise on the horizon. This could very well be the final time we see Jason Momoa’s version of Arthur Curry as well as his allies. But if this movie proves to be a hit and studio co-head James Gunn and co. want to keep the series going, I wouldn’t mind seeing Willem Dafoe return as Vulko. That’s on the condition that his schedule matches up, of course. 

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom – one of the biggest titles on the schedule of 2023 new movie releases – opens in theaters on December 20. To prepare, you can stream its 2018 predecessor using a Max subscription.

After a little more than a decade, launching with Zack Snyder’s Man Of Steel back in 2013, the DC Extended Universe is coming to an end later this year. New DC Studios CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran are set to create a new canon that will launch in 2025 with the release of Gunn’s Superman: Legacy, and that means concluding the current era of DC blockbusters. That puts the upcoming Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom in an interesting position, the film technically set to be the last DCEU movie… but that’s not something that seems to be having a particularly significant impact on the way director James Wan sees the movie and star Jason Momoa’s superhero future.

In advance of Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom debuting its first trailer today, the filmmaker participated in a press preview event this week, and he was asked about how his upcoming movie fits into the quickly shifting plans for DC Comics on the big screen. Wan expressed that he is obviously “aware” of the current franchise upheaval, but he added that his new movie is in a way built to be independent and insular because so much of it takes place in what is essentially a different world:

There’s no hiding the fact that this is a DC Extended Universe movie – with Jason Momoa reprising his role as Arthur Curry/Aquaman from Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice, Justice League, Aquaman, Peacemaker and The Flash – but there is a distance that evidently exists between what’s going on underwater in Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom and what’s going on in the surface world. The main focus is telling a follow-up story to the one that unfolds in 2018’s Aquaman, which, as noted by James Wan, also didn’t have deep-seeded ties into the larger goings on of the DCEU.

In the upcoming blockbuster, Jason Momoa’s Aquaman is having a tough time balancing life as both a father and the King of Atlantis… but things gets far more stressful when Black Manta (Yahya Abdul Mateen II) resurfaces with passion-driven plans to kill the hero. This time around, the villain is outfitted with the powerful and dangerous Black Trident, and in order to both survive and try to save the world, Aquaman must try and team up with his incarcerated brother, Orm (Patrick Wilson).

Further discussing Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom’s relationship with the DCEU, James Wan added,

So what does this mean for the future? Back in January, DC Studios co-CEO (and Aquaman producer) Peter Safran told us that Jason Momoa has envisioned his journey as Arthur Curry being a blockbuster trilogy. That being said, plans for Aquaman as a character have not yet been officially announced in the developing DC Universe, so what will happen with the hero after the release of Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom is unclear. We probably won’t have any official answers about what will happen until at least 2024, but for what it’s worth, James Wan is teasing that the end of his new blockbuster sets up what Aquaman 3 would be. Said the director,

We’ll just have to wait for the big screen arrival of Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom to get all of the answers we’re craving – and that’s now only about three months away. Featuring a cast that also includes Amber Heard, Nicole Kidman, and Temuera Morrison, the new film will be in theaters everywhere on December 20. Stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for more updates about the release, and head over to our Upcoming DC Movies and Upcoming DC TV guides to learn about everything that the comic book franchise has coming in the next few years.

Back in 2018, James Wan's Aquaman proved to be a remarkable success. Released in the wake of Justice League, the film was not just a simple box office hit, but still holds the record for being the biggest DC Comics movie ever. It's wild to think that was a full five years ago, but now, at long last, the sequel is almost here, and today we have our first extended look at Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom.

Catching up with Jason Momoa's titular hero, we learn in this debut trailer that the sequel has Arthur Curry balancing life as a new father and being the king of the seven underwater kingdoms. That's a lot of stuff on Aquaman's plate all by itself, but things get far more complicated when Black Manta (Yahya Abdul Mateen II) launches his big mission to try and kill the DC hero. 

The villain this time around is armed with much more than just a high-tech suit, as he is in possession of the ancient weapon known as the Black Trident – a cursed object that is a threat to not just Aquaman's life, but the entire planet. Recognizing this extreme danger, Arthur hopes that a former enemy can become a friend saving the world: his brother Orm (Patrick Wilson).

As featured in the Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom trailer, the new blockbuster is also bringing back Amber Heard as Mera , Temuera Morrison as Tom Curry, and Nicole Kidman as Atlanna.

The new film has the distinction of being the fourth DC live-action feature released in 2023, following on the heels of Shazam! Fury Of The Gods, The Flash and Blue Beetle, but even more significantly, it will be the final movie recognized as part of the DC Extended Universe. It's unclear presently if Jason Momoa's time as Aquaman will be coming to an end (earlier this year, producer Peter Safran made mention of "a trilogy" while discussing the DCEU star's future with the franchise), but 2025 will see the release of James Gunn's Superman: Legacy and the start of a new era: the DC Universe.

Fans have been (im)patiently waiting for this Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom footage for a while now, but one of the benefits of a late trailer release is that it means there is less time between the debut preview and actually getting to see the finished blockbuster. In this particular case, we are now just a little over three months away from seeing the film – which will be arriving exclusively in theaters on December 20. Stay tuned for more updates about the movie between now and then here on CinemaBlend, and to learn about all of DC Studios' big plans for the big screen, check out our Upcoming DC Movies guide.

The DC Universe has had plenty of twists and turns over the years, including leadership changing behind the scenes. While James Gunn and Peter Safran were named new co-CEOs there were a number of upcoming DC movies in the can such as Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. And after After months or rumors about Amber Heard's reduced Aquaman 2 role, director James Wan explained what the plan always was. 

Amber Heard's role in Aquaman 2 has been the subject of much conversation, seemingly due to her long legal battle with Johnny Depp. Rumors swirled about her reduced role, while some fans organized a petition to have Heard removed from the movie. James Wan spoke with EW about his DC sequel, and shared his plans for Mera from the jump. In his words:

Well, there you have it. While there's  been plenty of rumors and discussion about Amber Heard returning to Mera in Aquaman 2, it sounds like the chatter didn't actually influence James Wan. He always knew that the sequel was going to largely focus on Arthur Curry and his brother Orm (Patrick Wilson), rather than his relationship with the red headed Atlantean. 

James Wan's comments help to clarify the situation surrounding Amber Heard and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Still, there should be plenty more discourse surrounding her forthcoming return to the DCU. She was noticeably absent in Aquaman 2's first teaser, so we'll have to see if she gets featured in the highly anticipated full trailer later this week.

Because Depp and Heard's defamation trial was on TV, the court of public opinion came down hard on the pair of actors. Those on Depp's side may be boycotting Aquaman 2 altogether, after the petition to get her moved failed to move the needle. And since DC has had a number of box office disappointments like Blue Beetle and Shazam 2, the pressure is on. 

It's still unclear exactly how much screentime Amber Heard will have in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, but the story doesn't seem to really be about her. According to rumors, Aquaman 2 will see Mera and Arthur have a child. Is there a new heir to the sea being crowned? Only time will tell. 

Aquaman 2 will finally hit theaters on December 20th. In the meantime, check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience. As for Heard's future in the new DCU, only time will tell how things shake out.

Despite the fact that the DC film universe as we know it is coming to an end, 2023 was still a big year for DC movies with The Flash, Blue Beetle, and Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom all coming out this year. And considering one of those was the sequel to a billion-dollar blockbuster, it’s been more than a little strange that we’ve heard very little about the Aquaman sequel. But just as fans were wondering what was going on, they got an answer.

Overnight a 30-second teaser was released that gave us the best look yet at Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom and revealed that a full trailer will arrive in four days' time. The teaser answers a big question that fans had as many were wondering just where the trailer was for a movie that opens in barely more than three months.  

The Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom Teaser Is Here, And The First Trailer Is On The Way 

The teaser spot dropped online overnight. And while it doesn’t exactly reveal a great deal about Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, for the fans who have been waiting forever to see it, it will hopefully be enough. At the very least it should keep the fans excited for the next few days, as the main point of the teaser is to announce that a full trailer will be arriving in four days. That will almost certainly give people more to talk about, as it will likely give us a lot more actual information about the film itself.

What the trailer does do is show off more of the crazy underwater special effects that the first Aquaman wowed people with, like Jason Momoa riding a seahorse. Because of course we want to see that. It also confirms that Black Manta is on the attack, planning to destroy everything our hero cares about. We see what appears to be his father’s lighthouse on fire.

Fans Have Been Asking For The Aquaman 2 Trailer For Months 

With Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom only three months away there are a lot of fans who have been calling for a trailer. Some wondered if the ongoing Hollywood strikes would delay Aquaman 2, as several major blockbusters have seen delays due to the strike. Since the first movie was so successful, some fans to expected a big marketing push. But many have suggested that since that’s not happening, there might be a reason, such as a lack of faith in the new film.  

It could be that the studio just doesn’t think audiences will embrace the new movie the way they did the last one. The fact is that Aquaman came out a long time ago, at least by franchise movie standards, which could make the studio feel that audiences may have lost interest, so it doesn’t want to spend too much promoting the sequel. 

Of course, there’s also the fact that we all know that the DCU under James Gunn is about to get underway, and that means that Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is essentially the finale of the current universe. We don’t know where Aquaman will fit into this new franchise. Jason Momoa has teased some sort of future in James Gunn's DC universe, so maybe we'll see his Aquaman again, but maybe not.

Either way, it does look like the promotion of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is finally underway. This is surely a relief for fans, and possibly also for Aquaman director James Wan, who may have been waiting for this as much as anybody else.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom hits theaters December 20th. 

Unquestionably, 2013’s The Conjuring is one of the most influential horror movies of modern cinema. James Wan’s film helped make way for the genre really being revived in Hollywood in the 2010s. Between the filmmaker delivering a seriously scary movie and it doing so well commercially, it ended up becoming eight movies, so far, and the universe remains alive and well. Well this weekend, the first installment is actually a decade old, if you can believe it, and the director celebrated with some awesome behind-the-scenes photos. 

James Wan is among the biggest names in horror right now, and a lot of that has to do with the last impression The Conjuring left on audiences when it hit theaters on July 19, 2013. The filmmaker took to Instagram this week to thank his collaborators and the movies’ “huge fanbase” for always supporting the spooky franchise. Check out the awesome celebratory video: 

Wan also reflected about the release with EW. In his words: 

At the time The Conjuring hit theaters, a horror movie had not received a wide release in the summer months of June or July since 2006’s The Omen. It proved a smart decision when it opened at No. 1 with $41.9 million, and it became the biggest opening ever for an original R-rated horror film at the time, beating out The Purge’s record. The Conjuring was clearly a huge box office hit, making over $320 million worldwide on a budget of $20 million, but it also really impressed critics and audiences alike. 

It gave way to a massive interconnected horror franchise Hollywood has never given audiences before too. In CinemaBlend’s own ranking of all The Conjuring movies, 2013’s The Conjuring still sits at the top of the list. That being said, audiences have remained dutiful followers of the franchise and there’s more in the works right now. 

The Nun II will be the next of the upcoming horror movies in The Conjuring universe, and it's set to hit theaters this fall. Additionally, it’s been announced that a fourth Conjuring movie is in the works from David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, the writer of the last two installments, along with a Conjuring TV series being in the works for Max.  James Wan is involved in both projects, and he's expected to be producing. 

As Wan plans the next moves for The Conjuring universe, we imagine he’s getting nostalgic about how it all started on the set of the 2013 film starring Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as real-life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. As we look forward to the upcoming installments in the franchise, we certainly do wonder if The Conjuring 4 will be the last movie in the franchise, or if the universe will keep on keeping on. Given the anniversary, feels like a good weekend to revisit the spooky film a decade after its initial release! 

Horror is a tried and true genre in the film world, known for being capable of making huge profits on a relatively small budget. That’s partly why there are so many long-running horror franchises, and why the best horror movies eventually return with new sequels. James Wan’s Insidious is in that category, as the fifth movie The Red Door recently arrived in theaters (see the Insidious movies ranked here). And franchise sar Lin Shaye recently spoke with CinemaBlend about when she realized the first movie was going to be a hit. And it’s a pretty fun story.

The original Insidious movie was released back in 2010, and became another huge win for horror auteur James Wan. But the wild success of the burgeoning franchise wasn’t always guaranteed, especially during the short original shoot. Lin Shaye recently spoke to CinemaBlend’s own Sean O’Connell ahead of the release of Insidious: The Red Door, and spoke about her experience on the first film. As she told us:

Insidious has grown into a bonafide franchise, it sounds like those involved with the first movie weren’t expecting it to blow up in this way. In fact, they were basically doing small time guerrilla filmmaking, with a short filming period and small budget. Luckily those efforts really paid off.

As we all know, the first Insidious movie went on to make over $100 million at the box office, and four sequels (and counting). So when exactly did the cast and crew know the movie was a success? Later in her interview with Sean O’Connell, Shaye pinpointed the exact moment. In her words:

And release it did. Both James Wan and Leigh Wannell have continued to be visionaries within the horror genre, while Lin Shaye has appeared in all five of the Insidious movies (despite her character’s death in the original). Sometimes there’s really just lightning in a bottle.

Of course, Shaye was a scream queen before the Insidious franchise ended up becoming so successful. She appeared in a number of iconic horror movies before and after James Wan’s flick including A Nightmare on Elm Street, Critters, The Grudge and Ouji: Origin of Evil. And smart money says this trend won’t be stopping anytime soon.

Insidious: The Red Door is in theaters now, and beating out major movies like Indiana Jones at the box office.. Be sure to check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience. 

As fans reflect on what is anticipated to be the final installment of the spine-chilling Insidious franchise, titled Insidious: The Red Door, they're also preparing to bid farewell to the beloved main cast. However, amidst these goodbyes, director/producer James Wan has an exciting surprise in store for fans. A spinoff film is currently in development, and it promises to offer a fresh and unique story within the fictional universe. 

Insidious: The Red Door cast member Lin Shaye, who notably portrayed Elise Rainier in the best and the worst of all five films of the franchise, shared her thoughts on saying goodbye to the Lambert family, and she offered some keen thoughts on that front. Thought it's bittersweet, the prospect of what lies ahead has left this horror movie fanatic absolutely thrilled.

What Was Said About The Main Franchise Ending?

The actress discussed the conclusion of the franchise during an interview with Screen Rant. She personally recognizes the significance of ending the Lambert family's story, expressing her concerns about overstaying their welcome. However, the There’s Something About Mary alum offered some thoughts about where things stand for the franchise itself moving forward, and fans should take heart.

The Grudge actress applauds the horror-producing mega team of Jason Blum and James Wan for knowing when enough is enough. She continued:

The Red Door marked a highly-anticipated comeback for the franchise following a five-year break. The announcement of Patrick Wilson making his directorial debut for the sequel paired with the return of the original principal cast added to the excitement. While the latest Insidious movie has had a mix critical response, it has been a box office hit, even dethroning Indiana Jones. That bodes well for Sony's plan to develop a spinoff. 

What Lies Ahead For The Franchise Beyond The Red Door?

The spinoff, as reported by The Wrap, is to be titled Thread: An Insidious Tale and is set to feature Mandy Moore and Kumail Nanjiani in leading roles. Jeremy Slater, known for his work on Moon Knight, is writing and helming it, and it'll mark his directorial debut. 

 James Wan and Jason Blum have discussed how their approach to the franchise differs from how DC Studios does things, and they seem to have put a lot of thought into how they want to worldbuild. While talking to Screen Rant, Wan confirmed that the spinoff is still in early development stages. Even more notably, he also expressed that he's looking at in a way that's reminiscent of how he built out the interconnected The Conjuring Universe:

Yes, there have been the highs and lows with the Conjuring movies. But if Thread achieves the financial success of the Annabelle films and The Nun, it has the potential to open doors for captivating spinoffs deeply intertwined within the Insidious universe. This is particularly exciting given the enticing description that accompanied the movie's announcement, as it was described as a fusion of "Back to the Future" and "Aliens,” which leaves some room for interpretation. Will Kumail Nanjiani and Mandy Moore embark on a time-traveling adventure to battle a horde of their own parents? Either way, count me in! I'll surely miss the Lamberts, of course, but the future seems very bright for this IP.

While you wait on further information regarding Thread: An Insidious Tale, you can venture back into the Further once again with Insidious: The Red Door, which is now playing in theaters. Be sure to read up on the other upcoming horror movies you can look forward to, and check out our schedule of 2023 new movie releases to start planning your next trip to the theater. 

Horror has many masters. Mainly because there are several different types of horror, most of which are showcased on our list of the 30 best horror movies of all time. But James Wan and Jason Blum have been driving the car for horror fans for years now, collaborating together on the Insidious and Conjuring franchises, as well as cult masterpieces like Malignant. However, Wan has also transitioned over to superhero work, thanks to directing Aquaman and the upcoming DC movie Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. But he and Blum say that DC planning is nothing like horror planning. 

There’s a reason for that. The DC movies, and superhero films in general, come with an incredibly healthy budget. And horror films generally do not. This is how Blumhouse wins. They keep their costs down, and their profits high. So when I asked the duo, with Insidious: The Red Door hitting theaters, if they ever sat down to map out the timeline of Insidious stories, Jason Blum told me:

Which makes perfect sense. Concentrate on the movie that you are making, and make it as flawless as you can. If the audience responds, then start to think about taking them on the next step of the journey. However, as James Wan goes on to explain, there’s different pressure in the comic book world. A storyteller always has to be looking ahead. As Wan explains it to us:

Which is why I think James Wan has successfully transitioned from horror to superhero blockbusters. Because he does think about that bigger picture, and the larger world that is being created in something like Aquaman. Someone needs to explain this to Jason Momoa. Apparently he’s still baffled by Aquaman’s success, but he’ll be bracing for a fresh wave of popularity when his and James Wan’s sequel reaches theaters later this year. 

In the meantime, make sure that you check out Insidious: The Red Door, which Patrick Wilson directs as a continuation of the story presented in Insidious and Insidious 2. It’s in theaters as we speak. 

Following the release of Shazam! Fury of the Gods and The Flash, and with Blue Beetle now said to be part of the new DC Universe shared continuity, that leaves just one upcoming DC movie left that’s still tied to the DC Extended Universe: Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. After that, the DC Universe will first kick off with the animated Creature Commandos series next year, followed by Superman: Legacy in 2025. But despite the DCEU soon coming to a close, Aquaman 2 director James Wan has explained why it’s still worth seeing the sequel.

We’re six months out from Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’s release, and by the time it is playing on the silver screen, five years will have passed since the first Aquaman movie came out and went on to become the highest-grossing DC movie of all time. While speaking with ComicBook.com, Wan explained that because like its predecessor, Aquaman 2 is delivering a standalone story, that means it’s still worth your time since it’s not really touching the wider DCEU mythology that’s wrapping up. In his words:

This statement follows almost a month after James Wan said how because “the Aquaman universe is pretty far removed from the rest of the world,” he barely needed to worry about the changes happening at DC Studios outside of a few “adjustments.” Will Aquaman 2 effectively conclude the DCEU era? Working off the available information, it doesn’t sound like it will, but that’s not the point. Wan was focused on delivering a compelling follow-up to Aquaman, so if you’re in the market to watch Jason Momoa’s Arthur Curry and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s Black Manta clash again, amidst other events happening across the Seven Seas, then that makes The Lost Kingdom worth your time.

Also keep in mind that just because Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will be the last DCEU movie doesn’t mean it’ll necessarily be the last we see of Momoa as the underwater-breathing superhero. The actor indicated that he expects Aquaman to be involved in the DC Universe, and there’s a line in The Flash possibly teasing that Momoa will keep playing the character. That remains to be officially confirmed, but in the meantime, the Aquaman sequel will see Arthur teaming up with his half-brother, Patrick Wilson’s Orm, to protect Atlantis after a ancient power is unleashed. The Lost Kingdom’s cast also includes Amber Heard, Willem Dafoe, Dolph Lundgren, Temuera Morrison, Nicole Kidman and Randall Park reprising their roles, and newcomers like Vincent Regan, India Moore, Jai Zhao and Pilou Asbæk.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom dives into theaters on December 20. Max subscribers can easily revisit Aquaman and Jason Momoa’s other DCEU appearances prior to the sequel’s release, and obviously we’ll keep you apprised on all the biggest news concerning the new DC Universe.

It’s been almost a decade since Paul Walker tragically lost his life in a car crash at the age of 40. His friends, fans, and family were devastated by his unexpected death, and his sudden passing also hit his Fast & Furious family hard. The late Fast & Furious star was filming the billion-dollar blockbuster Furious 7 at the time of the incident. While most of his Fast family have evocated his name multiple times celebrating Walker's life, the sequel’s director James Wan has now opened up about how hard it was completing the film after losing one of its main stars.

The M3GAN producer was riding off the success of the first Conjuring film when he asked to direct the seventh installment of the Fast & Furious franchise. With the main Fast & Furious franchise edging toward its swan song, James Wan called the seventh installment the “hardest” of his decades-long career as he reflected on the sequel being his first big-budget film. In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the filmmaker explained,

Coming from the low-budget horror world to a big-budget action racing franchise would be a shock for any director. Luckily, James Wan was down for the intense outrageousness of the Fast & Furious series. Pitching one of the film’s more memorable sequences proved he was ready for action stunts. His hard work and dedication to Furious 7 worked out well, as the film grossed over $1.5 billion worldwide. 

While the seventh film was a runaway hit, James Wan went into more detail about why the movie was hard to finish. He opened about the hardships the production faced in the wake of Walker’s absence. The acclaimed director dug into the cast and crew’s initial thoughts about carrying on after losing one of the franchise’s most integral leading stars, saying,

As James Wan points out, AI technology wasn’t on the level of where it's at today when Furious 7 was shooting. He and the crew had to use movie magic and trickery to finish Walker’s scenes. Thankfully, his past dialogue and younger brothers were able to fill in for the late actor. Using the tech of the time allowed the cast and crew to give Paul Walker and Brian O’Conner a proper send-off.

Unfortunately, that was Wan’s only entry into the intense racing franchise, though he has since helmed other big-budget action films, including Aquaman and its upcoming sequel, Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom.

The Fast & Furious franchise has continued to honor Paul Walker memory by keeping his character alive in the fast-paced world, albeit away from all the action. Fast X took the family motto even further by including a cameo from Paul Walker’s daughter Meadow. The tenth film has continued to do well at the box office despite dipping in its second weekend.

If you want to relive Paul Walker’s best Brian O’Conner moments, get an active Amazon Prime Video subscription to watch Fast & Furious 6. The first five Fast & Furious films and Furious 7 are currently available with a Peacock subscription.

It’s an unusual period right now when it comes to DC cinematic entertainment. On the one hand, the DC Extended Universe is set to continue through upcoming DC movies like The Flash, Blue Beetle and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, but on the other hand, we know that the new DC Universe franchise spearheaded by James Gunn and Peter Safran is launching in a couple years. The Flash will pave the way for resetting this continuity, but while Aquaman 2 will technically be the last DCEU-era movie, director James Wan explained why these changes at DC Studios aren’t impacting his work on the 2023 new movie release.

2018’s Aquaman marked Wan’s debut in the superhero movie space, following after his work in the Saw, Insidious and Conjuring horror franchises, as well as helming Furious 7. With Aquaman becoming the highest-grossing DC movie of all time, it’s no wonder the filmmaker was brought back for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which shot from June 2021 to January 2022. Despite DC Studios preparing for the beginning of a new era, Wan said the following to THR about why he hasn’t had to worry about this as much as some might have assumed:

So while it’s not like James Wan has been completely out of touch with the DCEU transitioning to the DCU, because Jason Momoa’s Arthur Curry and his supporting cast of characters are chiefly hanging out underwater and dealing with threats resting below the surface, this status quo shift hasn’t been a huge concern. Ultimately we’ll have to see just how much Aquaman 2 delves into these waters, but it sounds like so long as you’ve seen Aquaman, you’ll be covered following along with what goes down in the sequel. Is there a future for Momoa’s Aquaman after The Lost Kingdom? That’s a question that may take a long time to be officially answered, although Momoa has said he “absolutely” thinks his character will be “involved” in the new DC Universe.

Perhaps the biggest mystery concerning Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’s ties to non-Aquaman DC lore at the moment involves Justice Leaguer teammate Batman. In June 2022, Jason Momoa shared that Ben Affleck was reprising his version of the Caped Crusader during reshoots, and it was later revealed that Michael Keaton had shot his own Batman scene for Aquaman 2 after donning the cape and cowl again for The Flash, but test audiences found his presence “confusing,” resulting in said scene being shelved. At this point though, it’s unclear if The Lost Kingdom will include any Batman appearance, though it arguably doesn’t matter in the long run given that one of the movies in the new DC Universe’s Chapter One slate, titled Gods and Monsters, is The Brave and the Bold, and it will star a new actor as Bruce Wayne.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom premieres in theaters on December 20, so stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more coverage about it, including when the first trailer drops. Use your Max subscription to rewatch Aquaman and any of the other DCEU installments.

There are a number of exciting upcoming Stephen King adaptations on the way, but few have us really buzzing quite like writer/director Osgood Perkins’ The Monkey. The filmmaker delivered one of the best horror films of 2024 with Longlegs starring Maika Monroe and Nicolas Cage, and he is set to debut his first King movie less than a year later.

While we also wait for Stephen King movies including Gary Dauberman’s Salem’s Lot, Mike Flanagan’s The Life Of Chuck, Francis Lawrence’s The Long Walk and Edgar Wright’s remake of The Running Man, let’s dig into everything that we know about Osgood Perkins’ The Monkey, starting with when you’ll be able to see it.

What Is The Release Date For The Monkey

 The Monkey is scheduled to arrive in theaters domestically on February 21, 2025.

As reported by Deadline in May 2024, Neon acquired the distribution rights to The Monkey at the Cannes Film Market… and that was notably before Longlegs turned out to be the indie studio’s second nine figure box office hit (the first being Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite). Neon put out Longlegs in summer, but it seems those planning the release of the upcoming Stephen King movie think it will be properly seen when there is a chill in the air.

The Monkey Teaser Trailer

 In the wake of Longlegs hitting big at the box office in July 2024, Neon took advantage of the buzz by teasing the next tale of terror on the way from Osgood Perkins. As seen above, the first teaser trailer for The Monkey dropped online in August 2024, and it provides us with more mood and tone than anything. We see the titular toy looking creepy and banging on a drum (notably not cymbals) while circus music plays, and the only shot of an actor is Theo James splattered with blood and removing his glasses. 

About The Short Story

 “The Monkey” was first published in a booklet that came with the November 1980 issue of the magazine, Gallery, but it was five years later when it was included in Skeleton Crew that it was discovered by most readers. It’s a cursed object horror story, with the object in this case being one of those creepy monkey toys that wind up and bang a pair of cymbals together.

The story begins as Hal, the protagonist, joins his family in cleaning out his great uncle’s house. It is during this chore that Hal’s sons discover a toy monkey from their father’s childhood, and the sight of the thing immediately chills the man. He knows it as a source of pure evil. When he was a child, he found it in his father’s antique chest, and shortly thereafter he discovered a horrific pattern: the monkey would occasionally turn itself on and start clashing its cymbals, and soon afterward, somebody he loved would die. Eventually, young Hal threw the toy down a well hoping to get rid of it forever, but it resurfaces when Hal’s kids find it.

Hal knows that he has to get rid of the monkey before it can do harm to his family, and so he takes a perilous trip out to the middle of a lake to dump it. It’s an ordeal that he survives, but the short story ends with a newspaper clipping reporting that hundreds of fish from the lake have washed ashore dead.

How The Monkey Is Deviating From The Short Story

Osgood Perkins’ script for The Monkey will change a few key things from Stephen King’s short story by having a stronger focus on the relationship between Hal and Bill. The movie will see their relationship become strained because of the trauma they experience as kids as a result of the titular toy. They become estranged as a result, but the return of the monkey and more death forces them to reunite.

It’s also notable that the filmmaker has said that The Monkey will deviate from the tone of both the source material and his previous movies. While Perkins’ specialty to date has been telling stories that go to deep levels of darkness to get scares, his latest feature will be a bit more… entertaining. He has described it as a film that families can see together and that it’s very funny – though he also promised that we will get to see people literally explode.

Theo James Leads The Cast Of The Monkey

Theo James had an incredibly busy 2022. He cameoed in the opening sequence of Riley Stearn’s Dual; starred in the HBO Max adaptation of The Time Traveler’s Wife; had a supporting part in the romantic comedy, Mr. Malcolm’s List; and earned widespread acclaim for his turn as Cameron Sullivan on the hit HBO series, The White Lotus. He’s kept working since then, starring on Netflix's original series The Gentlemen (based on the 2019 Guy Ritchie film of the same name), and now he is ready to make his debut in a Stephen King adaptation.

The report that announced the film back in May 2023 noted that he is starring in The Monkey, and the project will give James the opportunity to play a dual role. The movie will deviate from the source material and not only have a more prominent role for Hal’s brother, Bill, but he’ll also be Hal’s twin (in the short story, Bill is two years older).

While James is best known for his part in the Divergent franchise and now The White Lotus, he has a few horror genre credits on his filmography, including two of the Underworld sequels with Kate Beckinsale and a voice role in Netflix’s animated Castlevania series.

For a long time, Theo James was the only actor attached to star in The Monkey… and it actually wasn’t until after the film secretly completed production in March 2024 that reports came out about the movie’s talented ensemble.

Tatiana Maslany, Elijah Wood, Christian Convery, Colin O’Brien, Rohan Campbell, and Sarah Levy are all part of the cast of The Monkey, though the only role information we have regarding roles is that Convery will be playing the younger versions of Theo James’ characters. O’Brien is the only actor among the performers who has been in a Stephen King adaptation before, as he previously had a supporting part in John Lee Hancock’s Netflix movie Mr. Harrigan’s Phone. 

Osgood Perkins Is Writing And Directing The Monkey, And James Wan Is A Producer

The Monkey is the fifth film from writer/director Osgood Perkins – all of his features being exercises in the horror genre. He made his directorial debut in 2015 with The Blackcoat’s Daughter starring Emma Roberts and Kiernan Shipka, and he followed that up with I Am The Pretty Thing That Lives In The House in 2016. In 2020, he made the twisted fairy tale, Gretel & Hansel, starring IT’s Sophia Lillis, and that same year saw the release of his Season 2 episode of Jordan Peele’s The Twilight Zone (titled “You Might Also Like”). His greatest success to date has been the critically acclaimed/box office hit Longlegs.

James Wan, one of the biggest names in modern horror, is attached to The Monkey as a producer, and while he has never directed a Stephen King adaptation, this movie will be his second King title made as a producer, as he also worked behind the scenes on the  upcoming remake of Salem’s Lot. It was reported in March 2018 that he was developing a big screen version of King’s novel The Tommyknockers, but we haven’t heard anything about that project moving forward.

As noted earlier, we’ll continue to update this feature as new information about The Monkey becomes available, so check back in periodically to learn the latest news about the project. To learn about King’s long history with Hollywood by checking out my Adapting Stephen King column, and you can learn about all of the latest developments related to Stephen King in my King Beat column, which is published here on CinemaBlend every Thursday

It would seem that Stephen King is going to be a hot name at this year's Cannes Film Market, which is set to start up next week. Yesterday, we learned that an adaptation of the novella The Life Of Chuck from writer/director Mike Flanagan is going to be shopped at the upcoming event, and we now, less than 24 hours later, have news of another project in the works – this one being a feature version of the short story "The Monkey" that is being developed by writer/director Osgood Perkins and produced by James Wan.

Deadline is reporting that the film's lead has already been cast, as Theo James is attached to star. The original story centers on a father who is horrified when his two sons discover a cymbal-banging monkey toy while the family is cleaning out the attic of a deceased relative. It turns out that this innocent-looking doll is a cursed object from the protagonist's childhood that conjures horror and death, and he must try and find a way to get rid of it. 

The short story was first published as an booklet included with the November 1980 issue of Gallery magazine, but most Stephen King fans are aware of it as a part of the 1985 short story collection Skeleton Crew.

Should it successfully make its way all the way through production, The Monkey will be the second Stephen King movie made by James Wan and his company Atomic Monster – his first being the developing remake of Salem's Lot (which is still waiting to get a release date). It was reported in March 2018 that Wan was developing a feature remake of The Tommyknockers, but there haven't been any updates about that project since, and it's not mentioned in the new trade report. In a statement about the newly developing movie, Wan says,

Osgood Perkins made his directorial debut in 2015 with the horror film The Blackcoat's Daughter (starring Emma Roberts and Kiernan Shipka), and he followed that project up with two more genre feature efforts: 2016's I Am The Pretty Thing That Lives In The House with Ruth Wilson, and 2020's Gretel & Hansel with Sophia Lillis. He is currently in post-production on Longlegs, which features Nicolas Cage as an FBI agent on the hunt for a serial killer with connections to the occult.

Theo James is coming off of a very busy 2022 that included a lauded performance in the second season of the acclaimed HBO series The White Lotus. In addition to The Monkey, his upcoming projects include the series The Gentlemen, which is based on the 2019 Guy Ritchie film of the same name.

Stay tuned for more updates about The Monkey out of the Cannes Film Market and beyond here on CinemaBlend. You can keep track of all the Stephen King adaptations that are currently in the works with our Upcoming Stephen King Movies and TV guide, and read about the long history of past projects with my Adapting Stephen King column.

She’s coming for you – to be your best friend!

Back in 2023, another great Blumhouse horror movie dropped in theaters – M3GAN, the story of an AI doll that was gifted to a girl who had just lost her parents in an accident. 

The film did very well at the box office, and a sequel has been in the works since, simply titled M3GAN 2.0. But, when is this next movie going to come out? And who is going to star in it? 

While details are scarce, here is what we know so far about M3GAN 2.0. 

What Is The M3GAN 2.0 Release Date?

At the time of updating this in June 2024, M3GAN 2.0 will release on June 27, 2025, according to Universal. Originally, it was set to come out in January 2025 but was later pushed to May, and now has been pushed to June.  

The wait for the sequel might be a while, but if it leads to a good film, I’m willing to wait as long as possible. There are plenty of horror franchises that have truly dropped off in recent years because of the short time between sequels, such as the Halloween films, or even the Chucky movies. However, I hope that M3GAN continues going in the direction of the Scream franchise and takes its time releasing films. 

The M3GAN 2.0 Cast

The stars of the M3GAN cast were all talented in their own right, and the same is sure to be the case for the sequel.  Here is what we know so far about the M3GAN 2.0 cast:

Allison Williams as Gemma

Variety reported in January 2023 that Allison Williams would be back as Gemma for the sequel. Prior to it being confirmed, Williams talked with Variety  also in January 2023 about the possibility of a sequel, saying that if they had the chance to work on it, it would be “really fun.”

Williams had a standout performance in the Jordan Peele movie, Get Out, but is also primarily known for her roles in the TV show Girls, and The Perfection. 

Violet McGraw as Cady

The Variety article above also confirmed that Violet McGraw would be back as Cady, the little girl M3GAN bonded with and tried to kill Gemma to get to. McGraw (who had a big payday for M3GAN) was one of the young children featured in the Mike Flanagan series, The Haunting of Hill House, and also appeared in Ready Player One and the TV series, Love. 

Ivanna Sakhno

While we don’t know who she will play, Deadline reported in May 2024 that Ivanna Sakhno has signed on for a role in M3GAN 2.0. The actress is primarily known for her role in Ahsoka, and appeared in the comedy film, The Spy Who Dumped Me. 

As time goes on, I’m sure this cast list is only going to get bigger and bigger. 

Akela Cooper Is Going To Write The Story Again

If you were a fan of M3GAN's story, get excited, because Akela Cooper is going to be back to write this sequel. 

In the Variety article that announced the movie and premiere date, it was also confirmed that Cooper, who penned the screenplay of the first film, is going to write the follow up. This is majorly exciting news, as the first film ended on a cliffhanger that made fans curious about what was coming next. 

In an interview with Vogue before the sequel was announced in early January 2023, Cooper shared her hopes for a sequel, and that if it went forward, she was there with “bells on” to continue the franchise as older horror movies have done in the past: 

With that cliffhanger ending that M3GAN had, it’s no wonder that there’s a sequel happening. Having the same screenwriter on deck will hopefully continue the horror and fun that fans enjoyed well into the second movie. 

Also confirmed by the Deadline article from May 2024 is that the original director of the film, Gerard Johnstone, is going to also co-write the script with Cooper. 

Who Will Direct M3GAN 2.0?

At the time of updating this in June 2024, there has been an official announcement yet on who will direct M3GAN 2.0, although there have been talks. While Johnstone is working on the script with Cooper, it’s not confirmed if he’ll direct the sequel. 

However, the director has expressed interest, stating it in an interview with 1News in January 2023, and that he was in talks regarding it:

Obviously, it’s June 2024 now, and we haven’t gotten confirmation on whether he will return yet or not – but maybe we just need to be patient. For now, who will direct the upcoming movie is still up in the air.  

James Wan Already Had An Idea Of Where He’d Want The M3GAN Sequel To Go

With every horror franchise, there is always room to build a bigger world. We’ve seen that in so many of them ever since horror movies were invented. There’s always a way to make the story bigger and better, and of course, scarier. And James Wan, one of the producers of the film, says he already had an idea of where he wants the world of M3GAN to go. 

In an interview that he did with Collider in early January 2023, Wan shared his hopes for a sequel and, if it happened, that he was ready with ideas of where he intended the franchise to go:  

Since there’s no set plot details for M3GAN 2.0, this is the closest we can get to knowing what the next movie could potentially be about. Here’s hoping it’s just as creepy. 

If You Haven’t Seen M3GAN, Check It Out On Demand

M3GAN truly ended up taking the world by storm when it dropped in early January 2023 as the first horror movie of the year, and now, you have the chance to watch it on demand. If you haven’t been able to check out the movie yet, be sure to either stream it on Peacock or rent or buy it on Amazon. 

Stream M3GAN on Peacock.
Rent/Buy M3GAN on Amazon.

What are you the most excited for when it comes to the news about M3GAN 2.0? More fabulous dancing? A different rating? Whatever the case, she’ll surely slay whatever it is she wants to in future sequels – whether that be her dance moves or people.

The Princess Bride is one of the best romantic comedies of all time. However, according to the movie's star Cary Elwes, it's not even in the top two roles most fans recognize him from. The actor says whenever fans approach him in the real world, it's to express their love of his performance in two different types of movies. And according to the star, there aren't many crossover fans between the two.

Cary Elwes told Empire Magazine (via ComicBook.com) although The Princess Bride is a beloved classic, it's a combination of his time in the horror movies franchise Saw and Mel Brooks' comedy Robin Hood: Men in Tights which fans most recognize him from. The A Castle for Christmas star told the publication:

I'll admit it's not the two roles I would have imagined the actor is most recognized for. I still think of him as Lord Arthur Holmwood in the Francis Ford Coppola-directed Bram's Stoker's Dracula, but I suppose that's just me.

While now considered a classic comedy by some, Robin Hood: Men in Tights was mainly panned upon release and opened at number 6 at the box office. Roger Ebert, the legendary film critic with the Chicago Sun-Times, went as far as to name it one of the worst movies released in 1993. Still the movie has some big laughs, and it is worth checking out if only to see a young Dave Chappelle and for Elwes' wonderful English accent. Hey, some Robin Hoods can't even pull that off--no offense Kevin Costner.

Saw (2004) sees Elwes play Dr. Lawrence Gordon, a doctor who wakes up and finds himself chained to a dingy and abandoned bathroom across the room from a photographer named Adam, who are both forced to play a deranged game. The movie was a box office smash that launched the careers of first-time director James Wan, writer/actor Leigh Whannell. It also ushered in the era of torture porn horror cinema that dominated the early 2000s. After nine sequels, the series is still going strong, with Saw X's release right around the corner, and though Elwes only appears in two of the flicks, he had a significant part to play in the series' longevity. Horror fans can be incredibly loyal, so it's no wonder the actor is still approached about this movie. 

No matter what role you remember Cary Elwes from, and there are so many good ones to choose from, we can all agree he's an actor worthy of our attention. Lucky for us fellow Elwes fans, the actor has been cast in Zack Snyder's upcoming Netflix release Rebel Moon, which recently celebrated the start of filming. And he will be featured in the forthcoming Mission: Impossible 7 alongside adrenaline junky Tom Cruise.

The twisted minds behind “M3GAN,” including James Wan (writer/producer), Jason Blum (producer), Gerard Johnstone (director), and star Allison Williams (Gemma), discuss their new horror movie in this interview with CinemaBlend's Eric Eisenberg. They dive into the creation of M3GAN’s look, the dangers of AI, and even some spoiler territory with the film’s ending.

Video Chapters

00:00 - Intro
00:24 - ‘M3GAN' Director and Allison Williams Discuss The Doll’s ‘Uncanny’ Appearance
01:50 - How The Film Struck The Balance Between Funny And Serious
03:55 - Why Is ‘M3GAN’ Rated PG-13, Not R?
04:48 - Allison Williams Discusses Her Research Into The World Of AI
06:48 - Animatronics, Puppets & More - How ‘M3GAN’ Was Brough To Life On Set
08:46 - [SPOILERS] Director Gerard Johnstone Discusses The Film’s Ending

Horror producer, director, and screenwriter James Wan is no stranger to incorporating killer dolls in his movies. When you look back at every James Wan movie, his breakthrough movie Saw had a creepy tuxedoed doll deliver messages to Jigsaw's victims, there was a ventriloquist dummy in Dead Silence, and a cursed doll brought to you by The Conjuring movies. With Wan's newest movie being M3GAN with the central figure being a killer doll once again, this Australian filmmaker talks about why he’s so obsessed with killer dolls.

M3GAN follows an artificially intelligent robot made by a roboticist with the intention of protecting her niece left in her care after the loss of her parents. But as robots don’t know anything about limits, this robotic doll will use any means necessary to protect whoever is in her care, including murder. As reported by EW, James Wan spoke about what inspired him to have killer dolls be prominent in his works.

Dolls really do bring out a creepy vibe. Imagine trying to go to sleep only to see a porcelain doll or even one of your stuffed animals staring straight right at you. Anyone half awake would think that doll with its hauntingly permanent grin turned its head just a little bit in your direction. All seven Chucky movies brought out the audience's fear of killer dolls. You may think an innocent doll like Chucky just involves flinging him across the room, only to discover he has a force just as strong as a human’s. While Chucky was pure fiction, the Annabelle movies were based on an allegedly haunted doll housed by paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. There was even an incident when a Pennywise doll mysteriously turned up in a woman’s yard, causing her to burn it. If dolls could really be a vessel for dark spirits, you better believe the horror genre greatly benefits from that possibility.

Not only are dolls featured in James Wan’s movies, but in his home as well. The Insidious director continues to speak about a particular hobby of his that further incites his creepy doll fascination.

No wonder in the movie M3GAN, the character of Gemma has a collection of classic toys of her own. One of the best things about the horror-comedy film was that the character of M3GAN was not a figure created in CGI. If you’re wondering if she’s real or animated, you can consider her both. Every medium shot of M3GAN was done with six or seven different puppets. Every shot where she's walking or movements she does for that viral dance scene was real child actor Amie Donald wearing a mask. Moments when her face was moving, her eyes blinking, audio control, and other mechanical functions were animatronic. If M3GAN relied solely on CGI, the doll’s creepy demeanor wouldn’t have been as convincing or helped it achieve a super high rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Thank you, James Wan, for showing the movie industry that practical effects can still be very effective for a successful horror film.

James Wan’s creepy doll obsession has given us some memorable hits for the horror franchise. With a sequel of M3GAN in the works, hopefully, we’ll still see the use of killer dolls make a return to the big screen. Watch this killer doll sing, dance, and slay in the 2023 release of M3GAN in theaters now.

As the film industry continues to bounce back from the shutdown of theaters around the world in 2020, there have been a lot of questions about what movies work on the big screen and which ones don’t. There have been a number of significant hits and misses during the era – but one arena that has seen relatively consistent positive results is the horror genre. While dramas and comedies have proven to have unclear potential in cinemas, box office results suggest that audiences are still excited to gather together in auditoriums to get scared.

Given these circumstances, James Wan and Jason Blum – two of the biggest names in the world of modern horror– are in quite an incredible position. The duo first collaborated over a decade ago in the making of 2010’s Insidious (which has since launched three sequels, and a fourth is on the way), and most recently they co-produced M3GAN, which just had a tremendously successful opening weekend. They clearly work well together, and now they are set to take their partnership to the next level by actually becoming partners: it was announced this past November that their two production companies, Atomic Monster and Blumhouse Productions, are in the process of merging.

Wan and Blum are together in a key position to guide the future of horror and maintain its success on the big screen, and I recently had the opportunity to talk with them and learn about their outlook. I sat down with the filmmakers during the recent Los Angeles press day for director Gerard Johnstone’s M3GAN, and we discussed three different facets of where the genre stands: the popularity of original titles, the lack of a subgenre trend, and audiences’ acceptance of more “weird.”

How James Wan And Jason Blum Look At Balancing Original Horror Movies And Franchise Films

While modern Hollywood has become dependent on franchises and established properties, one of the most remarkable things about horror movies in 2022 was the popularity of original titles. Audiences demonstrated clear excitement to see Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett’s Scream and David Gordon Green’s Halloween Ends, but the genre’s biggest success stories were Jordan Peele’s Nope, Scott Derrickson’s The Black Phone, Parker Finn’s Smile, and Zach Cregger’s Barbarian .

This hasn’t gone unnoticed by James Wan and Jason Blum, who individually have resumes filled with films of both varieties. As a director, Wan has contributed to the Fast & Furious and DC Extended Universe canons, but has a resume of originals including the aforementioned Insidious, Saw, and The Conjuring (… all of which, of course, eventually became franchise titles themselves because of their success). He’s made sequels, but he has never made a full trilogy because of his desire to cultivate new ideas instead of old ones.

Wan wants this kind of to balance to continue in the movies that he and Blum develop and produce together. Discussing it, he recognized that audiences love to see continuations of established brands (nodding to the Blum-produced Exorcist legacyquel that is in the works), but doesn’t forget that those established brands started as originals that wowed us when we were younger. Said the filmmaker,

We will see James Wan and Jason Blum make franchise moves (for example M3GAN’s ending leaves the door wide open for a sequel), but Wan explained that pursuing the production of originals is “good for the soul.” He added,

If they can continue producing originals that turn into box office hits like M3GAN, that balance shouldn’t be hard to maintain.

How James Wan And Jason Blum Feel About The Current Lack Of A Subgenre Trend In Horror

In addition to the popularity of non-IP projects, a standout aspect of success in modern horror is that none of it is hanging on any specific trends. It’s been the case in the past that certain subgenres or styles explode and then get exploited until oversaturation – examples including slashers, zombies, vampires, and found footage – but there’s no pattern to speak of when you look at the big winners from 2022.

It’s a climate that Jason Blum and James Wan apparently feel wholly comfortable in, as they told me that they try not to pay attention to those kinds of trends anyway. Blum explained that when you try and pinpoint exactly what an audience wants, you end up making something that’s dated by the time it moves through production. Said Blum,

Wan echoed his fellow producer’s sentiments, noting that the key is focusing in on ideas that grab and excite them as filmmakers:

Blum added,

With And After M3GAN, James Wan And Jason Blum Want To Keep Horror Weird

In order for any horror movie to work, it perpetually needs to keep audiences on their toes and throw out new and different ideas. That’s something we’ve seen in recent months with hits like Barbarian and Damien Leone’s Terrifier 2, and M3GAN certainly has its fair share of surprise as well. The hallway dance the titular android performs went viral because it’s really goddamn weird.

That’s certainly the intended vibe, and something that the producers only want to embrace further as their partnership develops. As Jason Blum put it during our interview,

Adding, James Wan explained that there is an inherent desire to understand the familiar and break it in a way that results in something special. In this realm, Wan gave a lot of credit to screenwriter Akela Cooper, who worked with Wan on both M3GAN and 2021’s Malignant. Said the director/producer,

With this mindset in place as James Wan and Jason Blum continue to make movies together, hopefully the horror genre will only continue to blossom.

To keep track of all the excellent scary films that are on the way to both theaters and streaming in the coming months/years, check out our Upcoming Horror Movies guide.