Focus Features has dated the third installment of its little engine that could horror franchise, Insidious: Chapter 3. Following in the footsteps of the first film in the series, the picture will arrive April 3, 2015. Micr0-budget horror mega-producer Jason Blum is back to produce Insidious: Chapter 3 and Leigh Whannell will once again handle the script (he wrote the first two installments), but apparently without director James Wan, who is taking over directing duties for Fast & Furious 7 from Justin Lin.
There’s no official word yet on whether stars Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne will be back for the threequel. A bit of a cliffhanger ending to Insidious: Chapter 2 suggests that the makers had another story already in mind, but it’s not one that necessarily included the characters Wilson and Byrne portrayed through the first two movies. In a September interview with IndieWire, Wilson was asked about a then-potential Insidious 3, but wasn’t optimistic about his return, saying, “Like, where else do you go with that guy [Josh Lambert, his character]? He’s been through the ringer, and I think the movie sets it up well at the end, to be honest with you. And that’s great, that’s how it should end.”
The other bit of intrigue is Focus’s choice to avoid a currently open late October 2015 release window. It’s not a position the horror franchise has ever occupied, but it would seem a natural fit. That said, there’s potential for some fierce competition they may be trying to avoid. No release date has been announced for the recently-disclosed Saw resurgence, nor for potential continuation of the Paranormal Activity franchise (the fifth entry of which is due next Halloween), but either could easily slot in. There’s also a chance one of the rumored The Conjouring sequels or spinoffs could get into the mix for the much-coveted Halloween rush. The original Conjuring also starred Wilson and was directed by Wan. We were privately rooting for a Wilson-on-Wilson showdown between Insidious: Chapter 3 and The Conjuring 2 but with today’s announcement, it seems the last nail has been put in the coffin of that (admittedly unlikely) dream. Alas, what might have been…
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