Though his spectacular work behind the camera on Furious 7 is sure to send countless blockbuster offers across his desk, James Wan is still keeping true to his bloodcurdling origins. The Insidious helmer will produce a remake of 1980s horror pic The Entity with the same creative team behind his 2013 horror hit The Conjuring.
Chad and Carey Hayes, who scripted The Conjuring and are also set to reteam with Wan in the same capacity when he directs next year’s The Conjuring 2: The Enfield Poltergeist, will write the screenplay, working from novelist Frank De Felitta’s original script. Roy Lee, a major player in the horror world, is also attached as a producer.
The original Entity starred Barbara Hershey as Carla Moran, a single mother who was reportedly assaulted, both physically and sexually, by a supernatural presence. Ron Silver also starred as a doctor who believed Moran was abusing herself and disappearing into delusions caused by past trauma. The film didn’t make a tremendous splash back in 1981, but it has developed a strong following and been praised by director Martin Scorsese, among others, as one of the scariest movies ever made.
Wan isn’t the only horror heavyweight involved with the production. The Hayes brothers co-produced Conjuring spinoff Annabelle and previously scribed House of Wax and The Reaping. Another script of theirs, The Crucifixion, is in pre-production.
As for Lee, he has exec-produced a dozen horror titles, including The Ring, The Grudge and The Woman in Black, and he’s produced a handful more, such as The Strangers, Quarantine, The Uninvited and this summer’s Poltergeist remake. With that kind of filmography, his involvement elevates the production to an even higher level.
It’s currently unclear whether Wan is poised to take the reins on The Entity. Whichever studio ends up with the title (Fox was formally the distributor, but that’s no longer the case) will certainly ask him to, but with The Conjuring 2: The Enfield Poltergeist on his schedule and Warner Bros. wooing him for Aquaman, Wan might be too busy to handle another gig, even one as deeply inside his wheelhouse as The Entity.
