Malignant Director James Wan Reveals How Second Movie Could Happen

Thanks to franchises like Saw, Insidious, and The Conjuring, filmmaker James Wan has delivered audiences a number of compelling stories that also bring with them immense potential for expansion, with all of those aforementioned series earning a variety of sequels and spinoffs. Wan’s latest horror film, Malignant, was not only a captivating film in its own right, but also teased a bigger world with more unsettling stories, and while Wan has a complete picture for that world, he recently noted that he could see himself developing a follow-up if the fans demand it. Malignant is out now on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray.

“That’s pretty much what I do from the very start, and not so much thinking that, ‘Oh, there’ll be a sequel for this,’ but I try to, with all my films, I try to have an idea of what the bigger world would look like, the umbrella universe, if you will. That way, when I make this particular film, I know what is happening at every moment of the film, at every moment of the storytelling, if you will,” Wan expressed to ComicBook.com. “Because I know the bigger world that the story takes place in, there are potentially other stories to tell, and that usually is dictated by what the audience wants. If they want more stories, then I have more stories to pull into it. That’s my approach, even all the way back to my first film with Saw, is I do know the bigger world, like [writer] Leigh [Whannell] and I knew the bigger world, and if we were fortunate enough to tell other stories, we have stories ready to tell.”

He added, “Same with Insidious, same with The Conjuring. In the case of The Conjuring, it’s a more obvious one, right? Because the Warrens, it’s based on these real-life people who have investigated many cases, and so that’s a more obvious one to pull from. But the same with the Aquaman world, as well. I create this world, and then within that, you can tell many different stories within the universe.”

Just earlier this year, Malignant won the Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best Wide-Release Movie, so there’s clearly already an established fan base, though Wan pointed out, “I joked that, for the fans out there that want more of the films, that they should start a groundswell movement. Start a hashtag of a Malignant sequel.”

The film is described, “Malignant is the latest creation from Conjuring universe architect James Wan (Aquaman, Furious 7). The film marks director Wan’s return to his roots with this original horror thriller. In the film, Madison is paralyzed by shocking visions of grisly murders, and her torment worsens as she discovers that these waking dreams are in fact terrifying realities.”

Malignant is out now on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray.

Would you like to see the film get a sequel? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!