Insidious: The Red Door - Why James Wan Felt Good About Patrick Wilson Taking Over As Director
The "Insidious" films have quietly become one of the most emblematic horror franchises of the past 20 years, thanks in large part to the immeasurable talent and craftsmanship of James Wan, who directed the first two films and has stayed on as a producer since then. Now, "Insidious: The Red Door" has come to take the Lamberts' ongoing nightmare even further. And, with star Patrick Wilson at the helm, the series will be in the hands of someone whose connection to Wan runs deep.
In addition to his role as Josh Lambert in the "Insidious" series, Wilson has worked with Wan multiple times, including the "Aquaman" and "The Conjuring" franchises. This made him a uniquely suitable choice to take up directorial duties in "Insidious: The Red Door," succeeding "The Last Key's" Adam Robitel. And, naturally, it also made Wan particularly excited about the franchise's newest installment.
Speaking to Fangoria about "The Red Door" alongside Jason Blum, Wan revealed that he was already plenty excited by the prospect of returning to the original film's story, as opposed to the prequel continuity of the third and fourth installments. "And then I was doubly excited when I found out that Patrick wanted to direct it," Wan said. This, of course, because Wilson understands that particular brainchild of Wan's inside and out: "I always believed in Patrick's vision from the get-go, and it's very much a continuation of what we created together from the first two films so it was totally cohesive and made total sense for me," the filmmaker revealed.
Wan admires Wilson's passion for storytelling
Many actors who segue into directing hone their skills in smaller-scale projects such as TV episodes and indie films before trying their hand at studio filmmaking, but Patrick Wilson dove right in with "Insidious: The Red Door," which marks the very first directorial credit of his career. And, given the way James Wan describes Wilson, it's no surprise that Blumhouse, Screen Gems, and Stage 6 would place such confidence in him.
Wan, who knows Wilson intimately as an artist and creative after having collaborated with him so many times, had always seen him as a born storyteller even before his hiring as "The Red Door's" director. "Patrick's always been passionate about storytelling; even when I'm directing him as an actor, he will always talk to me about his character from a storytelling perspective. It felt very organic that Patrick wanted to step up and be a director — I could always see it happening," Wan told Fangoria.
Wan admitted to not necessarily expecting that Wilson's directorial debut would occur within the "Insidious" franchise itself, but being enthusiastic when the news broke. "I could always see him telling his story as Josh, and the Lambert's story as a whole, bringing back the family unit. There's really no-one better to tell that family story than Patrick at this point," the filmmaker said. Indeed, with the newest "Insidious" movie re-centering the Lamberts, it's hard to imagine anyone on Earth who'd be more keyed in on its emotional stakes than Patrick Wilson.
"Insidious: The Red Door" will hit the silver screen on July 7th.