Star of James Wan’s Malignant Calls It “Brave” and “Genre-Bending”

After his work on The Conjuring and Aquaman franchises, James Wan‘s directing skills are set to return to the big screen with the new horror film Malignant. The film, which was initially scheduled to debut this month, has been delayed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic — but it sounds like it will be more than worth the wait. Annabelle Wallis, who stars in the upcoming film, recently spoke about her experience on it in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. Wallis revealed that she thinks the film is “something very special”, and detailed what the collaborative process was like of working with Wan.

“Oh yes! Oh my god. I mean, I think we have something very special,” Wallis revealed. “I think it’s genre-bending. I think it’s so brave. It’s so original. I just haven’t read anything like it. And you know, again, I’m at a place in my life and my career where it’s time to be brave. It’s time to push. And James Wan, we worked together on Annabelle, which was the first time I ever came to America. And then, he watched The Loudest Voice, and he said he loved my work. So, he was like, ‘I wrote this part for you, Annabelle. Let’s collaborate.’ I think I’ve found in him such a wonderful collaborator, and I know that we will continue working together for years to come. He’s kind, and he’s so good at what he does.”

“And I think it’s really going to be something that audiences are pretty wowed by because it’s a real passion project for him,” Wallis continued. “So, I’m very excited. Yeah, let’s see! That’s what good art and good cinema is. You kind of throw it out there, and then you don’t know how people are going to react. That’s the exciting thing, you know.”

Co-starring with Wallis in the film are Maddie Hasson, George Young, Michole Briana White, Jake Abel, Jacqueline McKenzie and Ingrid Bisu. Bisu co-wrote and executive produced the film with Wan, and other producers include Wan’s Atomic Monster partner Michael Clear.

While plot details surrounding Malignant remain a mystery, Wan previously hinted that the film will be an example of him going back to his roots as an indie filmmaker.

“There’s been a bit of speculation as to what my next project is… all I’ll say is, I’m super excited to go back to my indie roots with this hard-R thriller,” Wan said of the project last year. “An original horror idea (not a reboot/remake or anything based on existing IP) with old school, practical effects and no giant, blue screen sets.”

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