James Wan

Producer, Writer, Director

Birthdate: February 26, 1977 (49 Years Old)

Birthplace: Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia

James Wan is one of the most successful horror director-producers of his generation as the co-creator of the Saw, Insidious, and Conjuring movie franchises, and is the first Asian filmmaker to make two movies grossing over $1 billion each at the worldwide box office. After writing and directing (with Shannon Young) the unreleased movie Stygian (2000) as his debut, Wan, with creative partner Leigh Whannell, concocted Saw (2004), which marked his proper big-screen directorial start, co-starring Cary Elwes, Danny Glover, and Ken Leung, and which grossed a remarkable $104 million based on $1 million costs. The phenomenal success spawned one of horror’s most durable franchises, for which Wan was executive producer on Saw II (2005), Saw III (2006), Saw IV (2007), Saw V (2008), Saw VI (2009), Saw 3D (2010) and Saw X (2023); Wan took story credit on only one in this franchise run, which was Saw III. James Wan didn’t repeat this hit status with the horror movie, Dead Silence (2007), with Amber Valletta, Donnie Wahlberg, and Bob Gunton, which lost money for Universal Pictures. Wan was the director of another box-office failure ($16 million against $20 million costs) with 20^th Century Fox’s vigilante thriller, Death Sentence (2007), starring Kevin Bacon, Garrett Hedlund, Kelly Preston, Aisha Tyler, and John Goodman. Wan reversed this downward trend three years later as director/editor of the Whannell-written Insidious (2010), starring Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, and Barbara Hershey, matching Saw’s box-office record with a $100 million global gross (on $1.5 million costs) for distributor FilmDistrict. Wan directed the Warner Bros. horror thriller, The Conjuring (2013), spawning yet another long-running franchise with a spectacular $319.5 million worldwide gross, and co-starring Vera Farmiga, Wilson, Ron Livingston, and Lili Taylor. James Wan returned to the building Insidious franchise as director and story writer of Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013), with new cast members Lin Shaye and Ty Simpkins, which earned $162 million globally, leading to further movies in the series for which Wan was producer only, including Insidious: Chapter 3 (2015), Insidious: The Last Key (2018), and Insidious: The Red Door (2023), grossing a cumulative $470 million worldwide. In a major shift of genres, Wan was director only of the seventh movie in the Fast & Furious franchise, Furious 7 (2015), proving to be a mega-hit with a powerhouse $1.5 billion global take, and co-starring Vin Diesel, the late Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Jordana Brewster, Djimon Hounsou, and Kurt Russell. Wan again departed from his horror roots as director and story writer of the DC Comics franchise project, Aquaman (2018), starring Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Willem Dafoe, Patrick Wilson, Dolph Lundgren, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Nicole Kidman, and became the highest-grossing DC Comics movie with a worldwide gross of $1.15 billion. James Wan returned to horror, with several goofy twists, as director/producer/story writer of Malignant (2021), co-starring Annabelle Wallis, Maddie Hasson, George Young, and Michole Briana White, and released in a simultaneous theatrical and streaming pattern by Warner Bros., dampening theatrical box-office with only a $35 million return. Wan returned to DC Comics to direct and produce (as well as taking a story credit) the long-delayed and complicated production of the $205-budgeted sequel, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023), reuniting the original cast but prominently starring Momoa and Wilson. Since 2014, James Wan has been busier as a producer of a string of largely money-making horror movies and franchises, including Annabelle (2014), Demonic (2015), Lights Out (2016), Annabelle: Creation (2017), The Curse of La Llorona (2019), Mortal Kombat (2021), There’s Someone Inside Your House (2021), The Nun II (2023), Night Swim (2024), Salem’s Lot (date to be announced), The Tommyknockers (date to be announced), Mortal Kombat (date to be announced), and Border Patrol (date to be announced). Wan was also a story writer and producer on the $366-million-grossing The Nun (2018), as well as Annabelle: Comes Home (2019), The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021), and Universal’s hit horror movie, the $181-million-grossing M3GAN (2022).

Personal Life
Movies
Facts

Personal life

James Wan was born in Kuching, in the Sarawak province of Malaysia, and was raised by his parents in both Malaysia and then in Perth, Australia, where his family moved when he was seven years old. Wan’s higher education began at Lake Tuggeranong College in Canberra, Australia. After leaving the college and returning to Perth, Wan then attended and graduated from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology with a B.A. in media in 1999. Wan has been married to Romanian actor Ingrid Bisu since 2019; the couple has no children. Wan’s height is 5’ 3 ½ ”. Wan’s estimated net worth is $70 million.

Known For

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom

Director (2023)

Malignant

Director (2021)

Aquaman

Director (2018)

The Conjuring 2

Director (2016)

James Wan Movies

Director

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Previous (8)

2023 |
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
2023
Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Black Manta seeks revenge on Aquaman for his father's death. Wielding the Black Trident's power, he becomes a formidable foe. To defend Atlantis, Aquaman forges an alliance with his imprisoned brother. They must protect the kingdom.
More Info
2021 |
Malignant
Malignant
2021
Crime, Horror, Mystery
Madison is paralyzed by shocking visions of grisly murders, and her torment worsens as she discovers that these waking dreams are in fact terrifying realities.
More Info
2018 |
Aquaman
Aquaman
2018
Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Arthur Curry, the human-born heir to the underwater kingdom of Atlantis, goes on a quest to prevent a war between the worlds of ocean and land.
More Info
2016 |
The Conjuring 2
The Conjuring 2
2016
Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Ed and Lorraine Warren travel to North London to help a single mother raising four children alone in a house plagued by a supernatural spirit.
More Info
-- |
Furious 7
-- |
The Conjuring
-- |
Insidious: Chapter 2
-- |
Saw

Producer

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Previous (19)

2025 |
The Conjuring: Last Rites
The Conjuring: Last Rites
2025
Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren take on one last terrifying case involving mysterious entities they must confront.
2025 |
M3GAN 2.0
M3GAN 2.0
2025
Action, Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Two years after M3GAN's rampage, her creator, Gemma, resorts to resurrecting her infamous creation in order to take down Amelia, the military-grade weapon who was built by a defense contractor who stole M3GAN's underlying tech.
More Info
2024 |
Night Swim
Night Swim
2024
Horror, Thriller
A family moves into a new home, unaware that a dark secret from the house's past will unleash a malevolent force in the backyard pool.
More Info
2024 |
Lights Out
Lights Out
2024
Action, Thriller
A drifting ex-soldier turns underground fighter with the help of a just released ex-con, pitting them both against a crime boss, corrupt cops and hired killers.
More Info
2023 |
The Nun II
The Nun II
2023
Horror, Mystery, Thriller
1956 in France, a priest is horribly murdered. An evil is spreading. Once again, Sister Irene comes face-to-face with Valak, the demon nun.
More Info
2023 |
Insidious: The Red Door
Insidious: The Red Door
2023
Horror, Mystery, Thriller
The Lamberts must go deeper into The Further than ever before to put their demons to rest once and for all.
More Info
2023 |
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
2023
Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Black Manta seeks revenge on Aquaman for his father's death. Wielding the Black Trident's power, he becomes a formidable foe. To defend Atlantis, Aquaman forges an alliance with his imprisoned brother. They must protect the kingdom.
More Info
2023 |
M3GAN
M3GAN
2023
Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
When robotics engineer Gemma becomes the guardian of her orphaned niece, Cady, she thinks her new invention, a robotic AI, will be a good companion. However, M3GAN begins to behave in unexpected and shocking ways.
2021 |
Mortal Kombat
Mortal Kombat
2021
Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Thriller
MMA fighter Cole Young seeks out Earth's greatest champions in order to stand against the enemies of Outworld in a high stakes battle for the universe.
More Info
2021 |
Malignant
Malignant
2021
Crime, Horror, Mystery
Madison is paralyzed by shocking visions of grisly murders, and her torment worsens as she discovers that these waking dreams are in fact terrifying realities.
More Info
2021 |
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It
2021
Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Arne Cheyenne Johnson stabs and murders his landlord, claiming to be under demonic possession while Ed and Lorraine Warren investigate the case and try to prove his innocence.
More Info
2021 |
Demonic
Demonic
2021
Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A young woman unleashes terrifying demons when supernatural forces at the root of a decades-old rift between mother and daughter are ruthlessly revealed.
More Info
2019 |
Annabelle Comes Home
Annabelle Comes Home
2019
Horror, Mystery, Thriller
While babysitting the daughter of Ed and Lorraine Warren, a teenager and her friend unknowingly awaken an evil spirit trapped in a doll.
More Info
2018 |
Insidious: The Last Key
Insidious: The Last Key
2018
Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Parapsychologist Dr. Elise Rainier faces her most fearsome and personal haunting yet, as she is drawn back to her ghostly childhood home where the terror began.
More Info
2017 |
Annabelle: Creation
Annabelle: Creation
2017
Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Twelve years after the tragic death of their little girl, a doll-maker and his wife welcome a nun and several girls from a shuttered orphanage into their home, where they become the target of the doll-maker's possessed creation, Annabelle.
More Info
2016 |
The Conjuring 2
The Conjuring 2
2016
Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Ed and Lorraine Warren travel to North London to help a single mother raising four children alone in a house plagued by a supernatural spirit.
More Info
-- |
Salem's Lot
-- |
Insidious: Chapter 3
-- |
Annabelle

Writer

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Previous (10)

2023 |
The Nun II
The Nun II
2023
Horror, Mystery, Thriller
1956 in France, a priest is horribly murdered. An evil is spreading. Once again, Sister Irene comes face-to-face with Valak, the demon nun.
More Info
2023 |
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
2023
Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Black Manta seeks revenge on Aquaman for his father's death. Wielding the Black Trident's power, he becomes a formidable foe. To defend Atlantis, Aquaman forges an alliance with his imprisoned brother. They must protect the kingdom.
More Info
2023 |
M3GAN
M3GAN
2023
Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
When robotics engineer Gemma becomes the guardian of her orphaned niece, Cady, she thinks her new invention, a robotic AI, will be a good companion. However, M3GAN begins to behave in unexpected and shocking ways.
2021 |
Malignant
Malignant
2021
Crime, Horror, Mystery
Madison is paralyzed by shocking visions of grisly murders, and her torment worsens as she discovers that these waking dreams are in fact terrifying realities.
More Info
2021 |
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It
2021
Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Arne Cheyenne Johnson stabs and murders his landlord, claiming to be under demonic possession while Ed and Lorraine Warren investigate the case and try to prove his innocence.
More Info
2019 |
Annabelle Comes Home
Annabelle Comes Home
2019
Horror, Mystery, Thriller
While babysitting the daughter of Ed and Lorraine Warren, a teenager and her friend unknowingly awaken an evil spirit trapped in a doll.
More Info
2018 |
Aquaman
Aquaman
2018
Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Arthur Curry, the human-born heir to the underwater kingdom of Atlantis, goes on a quest to prevent a war between the worlds of ocean and land.
More Info
2016 |
The Conjuring 2
The Conjuring 2
2016
Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Ed and Lorraine Warren travel to North London to help a single mother raising four children alone in a house plagued by a supernatural spirit.
More Info
-- |
Insidious: Chapter 2
-- |
Saw

Facts About James Wan

Shingle: James Wan’s production company is Atomic Monster, situated at New Line Pictures, and geared to produce horror, sci-fi, and comedy movies and TV series. Unmade: For all his myriad realized and in-the-works projects, Wan has been involved in several proposed and canceled movies or movies for which he was eventually not involved, including X-Ray (with partner Leigh Whannel), The Rocketeer remake for Disney, a MacGyver movie (he directed and executive-produced the pilot episode of the TV series), Robotech, and an Aquaman spinoff titled The Trench.

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