As logic dictates, if “Insidious” made $97 million worldwide, and “Insidious 2” made $161 million worldwide, a third film should follow. Plans were announced last fall, though director James Wan announced he had moved from the horror genre as a director. But a filmmaker has been found, and it won’t surprise who you it is.
Leigh Whannel, Wan’s longtime buddy and writer of the previous “Insidious” installments, has signed up to direct “Insidious 3,” and pen it too. No word yet on if Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne will return, or even what the story will be, but these movies are made cheap and fast and we’re guessing we’ll find out soon. And given these movies have come out two years apart, we won’t be shocked if a 2015 release date is being eyed. [Deadline]
From one successful franchise to another that’s having trouble getting off the ground, Universal is back in the hunt—again—for another director for their brewing “The Mummy” reboot. “Mama” director Andrés Muschietti was tasked the job last fall, but has bailed over reported “creative differences.” The filmmaker “wanted to deliver a darker take rather than the four-quadrant, more family-friendly action-adventure blockbuster that Universal now has in mind.” The redo, which will take place in a contemporary setting, has seen Len Wiseman come and go already, and Muschietti makes it two. But plenty of time to sort it out. The film isn’t due in theatres until April 22, 2016. [The Wrap]
Speaking of longer brewing projects, Relativity‘s “Hunter Killer” has already seen Antoine Fuqua, Phillip Noyce and McG all kick the tires before deciding not to drive. But hopefully this latest, less high-profile hire will stick. Steven Quayle (“Final Destination 5,” “Into The Storm“) has been tapped to direct the film about “an untested submarine captain who must work with a Navy SEAL team to rescue the Russian president, who has been taken prisoner during a military coup, in an effort to stop a rogue Russian General from igniting World War III.” Will this actually get made this time? We’ll see. [The Wrap]
Finally, remember the news last year that Ken Loach was retiring from narrative features to focus on documentaries? Guess again. “I kind of thought I wouldn’t get through another one just as we were beginning ‘Jimmy’s Hall‘ because it’s a moment of maximum pressure when you haven’t shot a thing but you’re knackered from all the prep, and you’ve been away from home for a long time and you still have to get through the shoot,” Loach said. “It’s quite a daunting prospect, the effort you’ve got to find from somewhere and the nervous and emotional energy and all that. But now having come out the other side, while I’m not sure we’ll get another of that size away, we’ll at least get a little film together of some sort [with Paul Laverty] more akin to a documentary scale.” So everyone, chill. “Jimmy’s Hall” hits Cannes later this month. [THR]
