Insidious Writer Hoping the Franchise Will Be Reinvented After This Year’s Sequel

Earlier this year, the Lambert family returned to the Insidious franchise with Insidious: The Red Door, but if there’s a future for the franchise, original writer Leigh Whannell is hoping that a fresh perspective can be brought to the project to reimagine it. The debut entry was released in 2010 and The Red Door marked the fifth entry into the series, with Insidious: Chapter 3 and Insidious: The Last Key serving somewhat as spinoffs from the exploits of the Lambert family, though still featured Lin Shaye’s Elise Rainier character. Given the compelling mythology of the otherworldly realm of “The Further,” there’s lots of untapped potential that could be mined in future films.

“I think those characters have run their course. I would like to see someone reinvent that series a little bit, do something new with it,” Whannell shared with ComicBook of what the future could hold for Insidious. “I don’t know what’s happening with it right now. We’re trying to do something with it, but you know how it goes with movies: Just when you think you’re starting with something, it’s over, and then it starts up again, and so you’ll probably know about it before I do.”

The original film introduced fans to the Lambert family, whose young son seemingly suffered a head injury that caused him to slip into a coma. Over the course of the film, however, viewers realized that the boy actually had his consciousness trapped by a nefarious entity in another realm, known as “The Further.” Father Josh Lambert (Patrick Wilson) was alerted by Elise that this wasn’t a random occurrence, as Josh had the ability to venture into The Further on his own and had been able to since he was a young boy. Josh managed to rescue his son from the “Red-Faced Demon,” while also encountering a variety of other intimidating presences.

Despite The Red Door bringing back original stars Wilson, Rose Byrne, and Ty Simpkins, the film sits at only 39% positive reviews. Even with those disappointing reviews, it performed relatively well financially, and once it debuted on Netflix, it saw a surge in popularity. This year’s Halloween Horror Nights event at Universal Studios had a house honoring the franchise, confirming just how much interest there still is in the property.

While Whannell wrote the first four movies in the series, he also starred in those entries as one of Elise’s investigators, and he seemed to shoot down the idea of appear on screen in a future film.

Whannell spoke with ComicBook ahead of the debut of the Shop Blumhouse store. Now you can shop from a treasure trove of exclusive Blumhouse merchandise. From collectibles to killer apparel, there is something for everyone to take home a piece of cinematic terror.

Stay tuned for possible updates on the Insidious franchise.

What do you think of the filmmaker’s remarks? Contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter or on Instagram to talk all things Star Wars and horror!