James Wan says 'future of horror comes from new voices'

James Wan has insisted "the future of horror" is a focus on "new voices".

The big screen icon has promised to keep championing fresh filmmakers as his and Jason Blum's merged company has been officially renamed Blumhouse Atomic, two years after Atomic Monster and Blumhouse joined forces.

He said in a statement: “The future of horror comes from new voices, and Blumhouse Atomic gives us more ways to find them and support them for the long haul.

“I got my start with a small film and people willing to take a chance on it, so creating those opportunities for others is personal to me.

"Working with filmmakers like Kane Parsons, Curry Barker, Josh Giuliano and Dylan Clark is a big part of that.

"We want to give them the freedom to make something distinctive and build relationships that last beyond one film.”

The producers, who have worked on Obsession, Backrooms and the Conjuring franchise, will continue to work as distinct production labels, each with their own creative teams.

Collectively, Blumhouse Atomic have pulled in over $2.5 billion at the global box office with combined production budgets of under $330 million.

Blum said: "When we merged our companies, we believed the whole would be greater than the sum of its parts, and that is exactly what has happened.

“Blumhouse Atomic is a natural evolution of what we’ve built together.

"The Conjuring franchise, Insidious, Saw, no filmmaker has created more horror franchises than James Wan, and together we’ve brought some of the genre’s most recognisable properties under one roof."

Blum teased Wan's return to the Saw franchise for an upcoming movie, and vowed to continue with "the creative freedom and financial discipline" of an independent studio.

He added: "Bringing Saw back to James, with a new chapter on the way, is a perfect example of what we can do together.

"We have the output of a studio with the creative freedom and financial discipline of an independent company, and more opportunities than ever to take these stories beyond the theatre and into television, games and live experiences.”

The duo are currently working on new Paranormal Activity and Blair Witch films, while the 2027 slate also includes River, The Exorcist: Martyrs, Anything But Ghosts, Sleepover, Molepeople, Seasons, and The Revenge of La Llorona.