THE CONJURING Director James Wan Reportedly Planning To Helm DC Comics Movie

Deadline has published an article covering a new deal that director James Wan has signed with New Line Cinema. He will helm The Conjuring 2 next year for a 2016 release, and he will produce other horror, science fiction and comedy movies produced at a “modest” budget. This is the first deal of this sort New Line has signed with a director. Most interestingly, however, New Line president Toby Emmerich has revealed that there are plans for Wan to helm an even bigger project.

Emmerich tells Deadline that the studio sees Wan as a promising director, and it appears that he is being lined up to tackle a DC Comics adaptation. “James will make an important movie for New Line and Warner Bros or DC, and that is definitely part of the plan, and a reason for bringing him into the family.” Assuming that the DC movie in question is a New Line production, the obvious choice would be Shazam, which will co-star Dwayne Johnson as antihero Black Adam. Johnson recently worked with Wan for next year’s Fast & Furious 7, and considering their connections to New Line, this would make perfect sense. Shazam is scheduled to hit theaters April 5th, 2019.

Of course, if this movie isn’t at New Line, there are a number of options Wan could be looking at. 2017/2018 movies Wonder Woman, The Flash and Aquaman apparently have yet to lock down directors. Then there’s Cyborg and Green Lantern, but would the studio hire a director for movies not out for another 5-6 years anytime soon? We’ll have to wait and see. Stay tuned for more news as we have it.