James Wan | |||||||||||||||||
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 Wan in 2019 | |||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1977-02-26)26 February 1977 (age 48) Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia | ||||||||||||||||
| Education | Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (BA) | ||||||||||||||||
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1998–present | ||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | |||||||||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 溫子仁 | ||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 温子仁 | ||||||||||||||||
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James Wan (born 26 February 1977) is an Australian filmmaker. He has primarily worked in thehorror genre as the co-creator of theSaw andInsidious franchises and the creator ofThe Conjuring Universe. The lattermost is thehighest-grossing horror franchise at over $2 billion.[2] Wan is also the founder of film and television production company,Atomic Monster.
Wan made his feature directorial debut withSaw in 2004. TheSaw franchise became commercially successful and grossed more than $1 billion globally.[3][4] Following a period of setbacks,[5] Wan found new success with theInsidious series, in which he directed thefirst film in 2010 and its2013 sequel. The same year as the secondInsidious, Wan directed thefirstConjuring film to critical and commercial success. He served as the director of thesecond installment in 2016 and produced subsequent films in the franchise.
Outside of horror, Wan directedFurious 7 (2015), the seventh installment of theFast & Furious franchise, and theDC Extended Universe superhero filmsAquaman (2018) and its sequelAquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023). BothFurious 7 andAquaman grossed over $1 billion, making Wan the eighth director with two films to reach the milestone.[6] He is the 16th highest-grossing director of all time as of 2021, with his films having grossed over$3.7 billion worldwide.[7][8]
James Wan was born on 26 February 1977 inKuching,Sarawak,Malaysia, toChinese-Malaysian parents. Wan and his family moved toPerth, Western Australia when he was seven.[9] Wan attended West Leederville Primary School[10] followed byWilletton Senior High School[10] in Perth, and thenLake Tuggeranong College inCanberra.[11][12] Wan then relocated toMelbourne where he attended theRoyal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT). He graduated from RMIT with a Bachelor of Arts in media in 1999.[13]
Prior to 2003, Wan and his friend, fellow filmmakerLeigh Whannell, had begun writing a script for a horror film, citing their dreams and fears as inspiration for its plot. Upon completing the script, Wan and Whannell had wanted to select an excerpt from their script, later to be known asSaw and film it to pitch their film to studios. With the help ofCharlie Clouser, who had composed the score for the film, and a few stand-in actors, Wan and Whannell shot the film with a relatively low budget. Whannell also decided to star in the film asAdam Stanheight, one of the film's main protagonists.[14]
After the release of the full-lengthSaw, the film was met with overwhelming success in the box office both domestically and internationally. The film ended up grossing $55 million in America, and $48 million in other countries, totaling over US$103 million worldwide. This was over $100 million more than the production budget.[15] This led the studio togreen-light the sequelSaw II and later the rest of theSaw franchise. Since its inception, theSaw films have become the highest grossing horror franchise of all time worldwide in unadjusted dollars. In the United States alone,Saw is the second highest grossing horror franchise, behind only theFriday the 13th films by a margin of $10 million.[16][17] Wan directedSaw (2004) and co-wroteSaw III (2006). Meanwhile, he and Whannell have predominantly served as executive producers to the sequelsSaw II,Saw III,Saw IV,[18]Saw V,Saw VI,Saw 3D,Jigsaw,Spiral andSaw X.
In 2007, Wan directed two featured films. The first was the horror filmDead Silence, which was the result of advice from Wan and Whannell's agent at the time; Wan and Whannell have since stated that the film was a negative experience for them.[5]Dead Silence featured Australian actorRyan Kwanten and is based on the premise of a legend, whereby the ghost of a ventriloquist, Mary Shaw, removes the tongue of any person who screams in its presence. Rather than a gore movie, Wan described the film as "a creepy doll movie. It's in the spirit of those oldTwilight Zone episodes or Hammer Horror Films. Very old-school."[19][20][21] The film grossed over $22 million[22] against a production budget of $20 million.[23] It received negative reviews from critics.[24][25]
Wan's second directorial film of 2007 was thevigilanteaction drama filmDeath Sentence, a film adapted from the 1975novel of the same name byBrian Garfield that was written as the sequel toDeath Wish.[26][27] The film's protagonist (Kevin Bacon) was a father seeking revenge for his murdered son, who was killed by a local gang. Whannell played a minor character as one of the gang members.[28][29] Wan described the film as "a raw and gritty, 70s styled revenge thriller ... It's my arthouse movie with guns."[19] The film grossed $17 million[30] against a production budget of $10 million.[31] Similar to Wan's previous film, it received negative reviews.[32][33] Author Garfield later stated, "I think that, except for its ludicrous violence toward the end, theDeath Sentence movie does depict its character's decline and the stupidity of vengeful vigilantism," adding, "As a story it made the point I wanted it to make."[34]Dead Silence andDeath Sentence are Wan's first films to be distributed by U.S. major film studios, withDead Silence being distributed byUniversal Pictures andDeath Sentence being distributed by20th Century Fox.
Having worked on his previous three films continuously, Wan told the male lifestyle websiteCraveOnline that he was ready for "a bit of time off just to chill... but at the same time I'm using this opportunity to write again."[35] In 2008, Wan directed a trailer for thesurvival horror video gameDead Space.[36] During this time, Wan andTobe Hooper were in talks to revive theTexas Chainsaw Massacre series with a trilogy of films, with both planning to direct although the studio instead made 2013'sTexas Chainsaw 3D.[37]
Wan returned to the horror genre with the filmInsidious, which premiered at the 2010Toronto International Film Festival as part of the "Midnight Madness" program and was sold to Sony Pictures Worldwide for a seven-figure sum within four hours of the premiere's conclusion. The film began its American theatrical release in the first weekend of April 2011 and achieved third place at the box office, with an estimated US$13.5 million in ticket sales.[38] StarringPatrick Wilson,Rose Byrne andBarbara Hershey, the film was made independently, as Wan sought complete creative control and also wanted to make a film that was markedly different from the gore that he had become synonymous with due toSaw. Wan stated in an interview, "the fact thatInsidious was not being run by a committee really afforded me the luxury to make a film with lots of creepy, bizarre moments that a studio might not 'get.'"[39] Wan later revealed that he wanted to "experiment in other genres, or make films in other genres because I love, Leigh and I have, we're not just horror fans. We're film fans. I love action films. I want to do action films. I want to do romantic comedies. I love all this stuff. So, if I find the good material, I'll do it.[38]
Wan's next film,The Conjuring (2013), centered on the real life exploits of husband and wifeEd and Lorraine Warren, a married couple that investigated paranormal events.[40] The film focused on the couple's most famous case second tothe Amityville haunting, in which they investigated a witch's curse on a Rhode Island family farm. In his second collaboration with the pair, Patrick Wilson starred in the film, with him andVera Farmiga playing the husband and wife respectively.[41] Filming commenced inNorth Carolina, United States,[41] in late February 2012 andNew Line Cinema, together withWarner Bros. Pictures, had initially slated the film for a release on 25 January 2013.[42][43] A test screening of the film occurred in October 2012 at the New York Comic Con event, where it screened in the IGN Theater, and the audience feedback was overwhelmingly positive. At that stage, Wan had several more weeks before the film was completed. The film was released in July 2013[44] and was a critical[45][46] and commercial success, grossing $319.5 million.[47]
After work onThe Conjuring was complete, Wan directed a sequel to 2010'sInsidious. The film was once again written by Wan's longtime collaborator and close friend, Whannell, and the cast of the original film returned. Filming for the sequel commenced in January 2013 and the film was released on 13 September 2013. The budget for the film had been described as "shoestring" by one media outlet. Oren Peli, the creator of theParanormal Activity franchise, returned as an executive producer.[48] Film District distributedInsidious: Chapter 2.[49] It received mixed reviews[50][51] but grossed over $161 million worldwide against a budget of $5 million.[52] Wan later admitted that he wasn't as involved in the sequel, adding "it would be good to shepherd it and keep it more in track to the version I had when I made the first film so that it doesn't detour too far" since he never intended to make a sequel initially.[44]
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In early 2013, Wan entered into negotiations withUniversal Pictures to direct the seventh installment toFast & Furious action franchise afterJustin Lin, who directed the previous four sequels, confirmed that he would not continue as director in January 2013. Wan was part of a directorial shortlist alongsideJeff Wadlow,Baltasar Kormákur andHarald Zwart.[53] A final confirmation that Wan would direct was revealed in April 2013,[54] with Lin approving.[55][56] The film,Furious 7, was released in April 2015. It became the most commercially successful film in the franchise, grossing over $1.516 billion globally[57] and received positive reviews.[58]
Wan later completed a deal to directThe Conjuring 2 as part of a significant long-term deal with New Line Cinema. Head of New Line, Toby Emmerich, explained that Wan is the sole director that the studio signed a deal with, as New Line considers Wan to be "a class of one".[59] The film was released on June 10, 2016, to high critical acclaim and commercial success.[60] That same month, Wan launched his own production company,Atomic Monster, atNew Line Cinema. With the company, he develops and produces budget films in the science fiction, horror, and comedy genres. Films produced by the label includedThe Conjuring 2 andLights Out.[61]
Wan later producedDemonic, a Dimension Films horror movie that was scheduled for a December 2014 release, alongside Lee Clay. Wan conceived the idea for the film, which was directed by Will Canon and features Maria Bello in the lead role. Max La Bella penned the script. The film was eventually released onVOD in August 2017.[62]
He then producedAnnabelle, a spin-off ofThe Conjuring that served as a prequel to the 2013 film. The spin-off was profitable, made on a budget of $6.5 million and grossing over $256 million[63] As part of the franchise, he also produced the prequel filmAnnabelle: Creation(2017), anotherConjuring spin-off horror film,The Nun (2018), andAnnabelle Comes Home (2019). Wan co-wroteThe Nun andAnnabelle Comes Home withGary Dauberman.[64]
In 2018, Wan directed theDC Extended Universesuperhero filmAquaman.[65][66][67] The film grossed over $1.148 billion worldwide,[68] becoming the highest-grossing DCEU film as well as the highest-grossing film based on a DC Comics character, internationally, surpassingThe Dark Knight Rises.[69] In 2019, Wan developed atelevision series based on the characterSwamp Thing, for theDC Universe streaming service.[70]
On 7 August 2015, Wan signed-on to produceNew Line Cinema's 2021Mortal Kombat reboot.[71] Four years later, theSouth Australian Government's budget included a huge boost to theSouth Australian Film Corporation, with theMortal Kombat reboot, as the largest film production in the state's history, set to be a key recipient.[72] In February 2018, Wan was confirmed to executive produce the animated adaptation ofStan Sakai'sUsagi Yojimbo comic book series.[73] The animated series premiered onNetflix in 2022 and was titledSamurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles.[74] In 2021, Wan directed the horror filmMalignant, starringAnnabelle Wallis and co-produced thefilm adaptation of the slasher novelThere's Someone Inside Your House byStephanie Perkins, under his Atomic Monster label, alongsideShawn Levy's21 Laps Entertainment forNetflix.[75][76][77] Also in 2021, Wan executive produced the television adaptation ofI Know What You Did Last Summer forAmazon Prime.[78]
On November 16, 2022, it was announced that Wan's production company Atomic Monster was in talks to merge withJason Blum'sBlumhouse Productions with the company having a shared first look deal withUniversal Pictures. Both companies would continue to operate as separate labels, with each maintaining its own creative autonomy and brand identity.[79][80][81]
In 2018,The Hollywood Reporter reported that Wan and producersRoy Lee and Larry Sanitsky were developing a film adaptation of theStephen King novelThe Tommyknockers and shopping the package to studios.[82]Deadline later reported thatUniversal had won the bidding war and acquired the feature film package. Wan will produce the film adaptation under his Atomic Monster label, with an eye to direct.[83]
In March 2020, Wan was announced to be working withUniversal Pictures to produce a modern remake ofFrankenstein.[84]
Wan is also attached to a television series based on the Italian horror comics seriesDylan Dog, which was announced in October 2019.[85][86][87] In December 2022, he stated that the series was still in development, and that he was also working with the publishing house to find investors.[88]
Wan will produce the horror filmBorder Patrol withScreen Gems, withJohannes Roberts directing the movie.[89]
In February 2023,A24, who successfully bid on theBackrooms film, announced that work had begun on a film adaptation of the Backrooms based onParsons' videos, with Parsons directing.Roberto Patino is set to write the screenplay, while Wan, Michael Clear fromAtomic Monster,Shawn Levy, Dan Cohen, and Dan Levine from21 Laps Entertainment,Peter Chernin fromChernin Entertainment are set to produce.[90][91][92]
In October 2023,Disney Branded Television announced aGargoyles live-action reboot with Wan and Michael Clear, joining the executive producing ranks.[93]
In 2009, a Whannell–Wan collaborative project, calledX Ray, was announced and was described as a new "film noir/action project," with producer Robbie Brenner also attached to the project, however as of December 2012, no further developments were reported.[94] It was also announced that an adaptation ofScott O. Brown's graphic novelNightfall was to be Wan's next film afterDeath Sentence. The plot involves the events that take place after a criminal is sent to a Texas prison run by vampires.[95] However, nothing materialised and Wan lost the rights to the film.
In 2012, Disney was reported to be developing a remake ofThe Rocketeer[96] and Wan was in talks about directing the film. However, no film ever came to fruition.[97] Similarly, Wan's negotiations to direct an adaption of the 1980s television seriesMacGyver film never materialised and he pulled out from directing due to scheduling conflicts.[98] Instead, areboot television series titledMacGyver premiered in September 2016. Wan executive produced the series and directed the pilot episode.[99] Wan was also at one point attached to the director role for a live actionRobotech film for Sony, but was replaced byAndy Muschietti in July 2017.[100][101]
A "horror-tinged" spin-off ofAquaman calledThe Trench was in development. Wan would have produced while Noah Gardner and Aidan Fitzgerald were signed on to write the script.[102] It was cancelled in April 2021.[103]
On 22 June 2019, Wan became engaged to Romanian actressIngrid Bisu, making the announcement on hisInstagram account.[104] They married on 4 November 2019.[105]
| † | Denotes film or TV productions that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Stygian | Yes | Yes | No | Co-written and -directed with Shannon Young; festival screenings only, never commercially released |
| 2004 | Saw | Yes | Story | No | |
| 2005 | Saw II | No | No | Executive | |
| 2006 | Saw III | No | Story | Executive | |
| 2007 | Dead Silence | Yes | Story | No | |
| Death Sentence | Yes | No | No | ||
| Saw IV | No | No | Executive | ||
| 2008 | Saw V | No | No | Executive | |
| 2009 | Saw VI | No | No | Executive | |
| 2010 | Insidious | Yes | No | No | Also editor |
| Saw 3D | No | No | Executive | ||
| 2013 | The Conjuring | Yes | No | No | |
| Insidious: Chapter 2 | Yes | Story | No | ||
| 2014 | Annabelle | No | No | Yes | |
| 2015 | Demonic | No | No | Yes | |
| Furious 7 | Yes | No | No | ||
| Insidious: Chapter 3 | No | No | Yes | Also cameos as "Theater Director" | |
| 2016 | The Conjuring 2 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Lights Out | No | No | Yes | ||
| 2017 | Annabelle: Creation | No | No | Yes | |
| Jigsaw | No | No | Executive | ||
| 2018 | Insidious: The Last Key | No | No | Yes | |
| The Nun | No | Story | Yes | Also second unit director | |
| Aquaman | Yes | Story | No | ||
| 2019 | The Curse of La Llorona | No | No | Yes | |
| Annabelle Comes Home | No | Story | Yes | ||
| 2021 | Mortal Kombat | No | No | Yes | |
| Spiral: From the Book of Saw | No | No | Executive | ||
| The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It | No | Story | Yes | ||
| Malignant | Yes | Story | Yes | ||
| There's Someone Inside Your House | No | No | Yes | ||
| 2022 | M3GAN | No | Story | Yes | |
| 2023 | Insidious: The Red Door | No | No | Yes | |
| The Nun II | No | No | Yes | ||
| Saw X | No | No | Executive | ||
| Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom | Yes | Story | Yes | ||
| 2024 | Night Swim | No | No | Yes | |
| 'Salem's Lot | No | No | Yes | ||
| 2025 | The Monkey | No | No | Yes | |
| M3GAN 2.0 | No | No | Yes | ||
| The Conjuring: Last Rites | No | Story | Yes | Also cameos as "Wedding Guest" | |
| 2026 | SOULM8TE† | No | Story | Yes | Post-production |
| The Mummy† | No | No | Yes | ||
| Mortal Kombat II† | No | No | Yes | ||
| UntitledInsidious sequel† | No | No | Yes | ||
| Other Mommy† | No | No | Yes | ||
| The Backrooms† | No | No | Yes | ||
| TBA | The Revenge of La Llorona[106]† | No | No | Yes | Filming |
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Editor | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Saw | Yes | Yes | Yes | Retroactively referred to asSaw 0.5 |
| 2008 | Doggie Heaven | Yes | Creator | Yes | Produced forXbox Live as part of their "Masters of Horror Take On Comedy" series; alternative title "Woof!"[107] |
| Year | Series | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Director | Executive Producer | Notes | ||
| 2016–2021 | MacGyver | Yes | Yes | Directed episode "The Rising" |
| 2019 | Swamp Thing | No | Yes | |
| 2021 | Aquaman: King of Atlantis | No | Yes | |
| I Know What You Did Last Summer | No | Yes | ||
| 2022 | Archive 81 | No | Yes | |
| Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles | No | Yes | ||
| 2024 | Teacup | No | Yes | |
| 2025 | True Haunting[108] | No | Yes | |
| 2025 | The Copenhagen Test† | No | Yes | |
| TBA | 56 Days† | No | Yes |
Critical, public and commercial reception to films James Wan has directed:
| Year | Film | Rotten Tomatoes[109] | Metacritic[110] | CinemaScore[111] | Budget | Box office[112] | Release Studio | Production Studio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Saw | 51% (188 reviews) | 46 (32 reviews) | C+ | $1.2 million | $103.9 million | Lionsgate | Twisted Pictures |
| 2007 | Dead Silence | 20% (77 reviews) | 34 (15 reviews) | C+ | $20 million | $22 million | Universal Pictures | |
| Death Sentence | 21% (112 reviews) | 36 (24 reviews) | C | $10 million | $16.9 million | 20th Century Fox | Hyde Park Entertainment Baldwin Entertainment Group | |
| 2010 | Insidious | 66% (174 reviews) | 52 (30 reviews) | B | $1.5 million | $97 million | FilmDistrict | Blumhouse Productions |
| 2013 | The Conjuring | 86% (208 reviews) | 68 (35 reviews) | A– | $20 million | $319.5 million | Warner Bros. Pictures | New Line Cinema The Safran Company Evergreen Media Group |
| 2013 | Insidious: Chapter 2 | 39% (123 reviews) | 40 (30 reviews) | B+ | $5 million | $161.9 million | FilmDistrict | Blumhouse Productions |
| 2015 | Furious 7 | 81% (241 reviews) | 67 (44 reviews) | A | $190 million | $1.516 billion | Universal Pictures | Original Film One Race Films MRC China Film |
| 2016 | The Conjuring 2 | 80% (227 reviews) | 65 (38 reviews) | A– | $40 million | $320.4 million | Warner Bros. Pictures | New Line Cinema The Safran Company Atomic Monster |
| 2018 | Aquaman | 65% (334 reviews) | 55 (49 reviews) | A– | $160 million | $1.148 billion | Warner Bros. Pictures DC Films The Safran Company | |
| 2021 | Malignant | 76% (157 reviews) | 51 (23 reviews) | C | $40 million | $34 million | New Line Cinema Atomic Monster Starlight Media Inc. My Entertainment Inc. | |
| 2023 | Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom | 34% (198 reviews) | 42 (42 reviews) | B | $205 million | $434.4 million | Atomic Monster The Safran Company Domain Entertainment DC Studios |
| Award | Year | Nominated work | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturn Awards | 2019 | Aquaman | Best Director | Nominated | [113] |
| Tony Awards | 2025 | Death Becomes Her | Best Musical | Pending | [114] |
Wan, 38, who is an Australian but lives in the States, spoke about the film and about Walker by phone from Los Angeles.
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