Insidious (film series)

Insidious was directed by Wan, written by Whannell, and starred Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne and Barbara Hershey. The story centers on a couple whose son inexplicably enters a comatose state and becomes a vessel for ghosts in an astral dimension. The film was released in theaters on April 1, 2011,[1] and is FilmDistrict's first theatrical release. A sequel, Insidious: Chapter 2, was released on September 13, 2013, with Wan returning as director and Whannell returning as screenwriter. The film's success led to it being used as inspiration for a maze in Universal's 2013 Halloween Horror Nights.

Insidious: Chapter 2 was also directed by Wan and written by Whannell. The film stars Wilson and Byrne reprising their roles as Josh and Renai Lambert, a husband and wife who seek to uncover the secret that has left them dangerously connected to the spirit world. The film was released on September 13, 2013. It was a box-office success, grossing over $160 million worldwide, but received mixed reviews.

Insidious: Chapter 3 is the third film in the series, written and directed by Whannell. The film is a prequel to the haunting of the Lambert family in the first two films, and stars Stefanie Scott, Dermot Mulroney, Lin Shaye, and Whannell. It's about a girl—Quinn—who is haunted by a demon after trying to call out to her mother Lillith, who died. It was released on June 5, 2015.

Prior to the release of Insidious: Chapter 3, Whannell was asked, "If there is a Insidious: Chapter 4, would that be a sequel to Chapter 3, another prequel to the original or will it continue in this timeline or go to a whole new timeline?" Whannell replied:

"I don't know. I haven't really thought about it yet. But for the purposes of this interview, I'll say that I'd like to explore the time between this film and the first film. That whole area there where Elise has rediscovered her gift, I think you could have a lot of adventures before she arrives. So I think there is a lot of room there. We've kind of established Lin [Shaye] in this particular film as kind of this superhero, so that would be kind of interesting to explore in the other films."[2]

On May 16, 2016, it was announced that Chapter 4 would have an October 20, 2017 release date with Whannell writing, Jason Blum, Oren Peli and Wan producing, Adam Robitel directing, and Shaye returning to reprise her role as Elise Rainier.[3][4] On October 11, 2016, the film was given a new release date of January 2018.

Prior to the release of Insidious: The Last Key, Jason Blum stated that a crossover film between Insidious and Sinister had previously been in development, tentatively entitled Insinister, and that he personally believed it had potential for re-entering it, stating that "we're going to cross our worlds at some point".[5]