The Dark Universe might be dead, but Universal’s horror ambitions are doing just fine: Hot on the heels of the success of Leigh Whannell’s The Invisible Man—the movie that dared to dream audiences might prefer their spooky movies to feature top-tier performers in upsetting circumstances, and not Tom Cruise, superhero mummy fighter—the studio has announced that it’s teaming up with James Wan for a new suburban horror flick.
And while Saw and The Conjuring director Wan has branched out from his horror roots in recent years—including directing Furious 7 and Aquaman—he’s never wandered far from the genre’s welcome and blood-stained arms. This new project will see him aiming a bit younger than his typical fare, though, centering as it does on a bunch of teenagers who learn that their neighbor is making a monster in his basement. (We’re sure the authorities, ever the understanding and compassionate heroes of horror franchises everywhere, will definitely listen to them, and the kids themselves will not have to face off against the monster, possibly learning valuable lessons about growing up in the process.) Wan will serve as a producer on the title, as he has on any number of Saw and Conjuring movies, as well as the MacGuyver TV reboot. (That’s not germane, we just thought it was kind of weird.) In any case, there’s no director set for the project yet, although Supernatural’s Robbie Thompson is writing the script.
The untitled film is just the latest in a series of smaller-focus horror movies from Universal which, again, do not devote any of their running time to teasing you with the possibility of Russell Crowe getting his own Mr. Hyde movie. Other projects on the docket include monster movies from Dexter Fletcher, Paul Feig, and Elizabeth Banks.