Horror movie studio Blumhouse has kicked off its virtual convention BlumFest with some huge news: Insidious 5 is happening. Patrick Wilson will return to the series; in addition to starring, he'll be in the director's chair this time around.

　　Both Jason Blum and Wilson discussed the upcoming horror movie--which is one of the most notable series from the early days of Blumhouse. "Honestly, if you [asked] me a few years ago, 'Do you want your directorial debut to be a horror movie?' I'd say, 'No, it's not me,'" Wilson explained. "And a lot of that was out of fear, because I've been sitting next to James Wan for a long time now."

　　Wilson went on to say it's about telling the right story, which this film is for the actor and director. Thinking about the characters of Josh Lambert and his young son Dalton--played by Ty Simpkins, who started in the franchise at 8 years old and is now an adult--Wilson wanted to explore how being hypnotized and astral projecting has affected their family 10 years later. "I thought about the bones of it," Wilson continued. "I just latched on to watching Dalton go to college and what does that do, watching a young man go to college and all the new experiences and feeling like an outsider and trying to fit in? And he's got this ability that he doesn't even know he has of being an astral projectors--being a traveler. Are we still hypnotized? Is there still that trend so what does that do to your life? What does that do to your marriage? And then what does that do from a father and son relationship?"

　　The first two Insidious films follow the Lambert family, who have been haunted by evil spirits. The first film poses the idea of a person being haunted rather than a house--as the franchise dives into astral projection and possession.

　　The Insidious franchise has lasted 10 years now, as the first movie debuted in 2011. And Blumhouse founder Jason Blum credits the cast and crew to that. "I think the reason that it's lasted is because the people who were involved in the original movie have stuck through with it to the franchise," said Blum. "That's kept it vital and interesting and good. I'm very grateful to my fellow and Insidious-ers here on the screen because without them this would never happen."

　　Insidious 5 is expected to hit theaters sometime in 2022.

　　Mat Elfring on Google+