‘Insidious 3′ Nabs a New (But Familiar) Director

With director James Wan off doing 'Fast and Furious 7' (and supposedly leaving his horror roots behind), the massively successful 'Insidious' franchise was without a director for 'Insidious 3' ... until right now! (Queue music sting! Movie news jump scare!) Today, it was announced that Leigh Whannell, the writer of the previous two films, will make his directorial debut with 'Insidious: Chapter 3.'

In addition to penning the screenplays for 'Insidious' and 'Insidious: Chapter 2,' Whannell played the role of paranormal investigator Specs, the slightly goofy comic relief character who assists the haunted Lambert family with their ongoing demon problem. Before that, he wrote the screenplays for 'Saw,' 'Saw II' and 'Dead Silence.' In other words, he's not only a veteran of the 'Insidious' franchise, but a horror veteran in general. This series is in good hands.

It was only a matter of time before Whannell branched out into directing. In addition to his work on the the mainstream horror circuit, he wrote and acted in festival hits like 'Cooties' and 'The Mule.' With his storytelling muscles stretched, 'Insidious: Chapter 3' feels like the ideal project for him to to make the jump into directing. After all, he'll be surrounded by the same team from the past two films (including Wan, who will produce).

The only question now is which direction Whannell will take the story. Although the last film seemingly closed the door on the tale of the Lambert family, it would be easy enough to extend their suffering. After all, 'Insidious: Chapter 2' got downright goofy and fantastical -- Whannell already built a massive horror playground, so now he just has to play in it.