The Kidd here...
James Wan has been looking into getting out of the horror game for awhile now. He was drawn back in by THE CONJURING and what he could do with the family dynamic in a period piece, and INSIDIOUS CHAPTER 2 is a continuation of a previous idea, but when you have films like that and the original SAW to your credit, there's not much more you need to prove within the genre. And with James Wan looking to branch out into other things as a filmmaker and Universal Pictures looking for a new director to take over the FAST & FURIOUS series for #7 now that Justin Lin won't be returning, it appears they may be a match made in heaven.
Deadline reports that Universal is in negotiations with James Wan to get behind the camera for FAST & FURIOUS 7, which the studio is looking to get ramped up rather quickly with a Summer 2014 release being targeted. #6 will lead right into the next film, and no one over at Universal wants to keep this on the shelf any longer than they have do... which is why they're going to pat it on the ass Memorial Day Weekend, and send it right back out there.
Universal shopped around on a few other directors, but it's hard to argue with their choice of Wan. The guy is an excellent storyteller, and his films have always been extremely well-made. The FAST & FURIOUS franchise has gotten better with age, and, coming off 6, he's inheriting what is essentially a ready-made follow-up. It looks like a pretty hard project to screw up, and, with this, much like Lin did with his experience in the series, he should be able to distance himself from horror a bit (it's always there if he gets the bug again) and have the capacity to move onto other opportunities he might not have otherwise gotten as "the horror guy."
-Billy Donnelly
"The Infamous Billy The Kidd"
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