Rose Byrne Says Her 'Ease' With Insidious 5 Co-Star Patrick Wilson Made His Pivot To Directing Feel Natural
Original "Insidious" director and series producer James Wan is letting his friend Patrick Wilson make his directorial debut on "Insidious: Fear the Dark," the fifth film in the franchise after Wan directed the first two entries. Wilson will also return to star in the film as Josh, the oft-haunted patriarch of the Lambert family. The summer 2023 horror film also marks a reunion with Rose Byrne and Ty Simpkins, who also starred in the first two films and are set to return respectively as Josh's wife Renai and their son Dalton, who was taken into The Further in the original film.
The new film follows the events of the first two, skipping over the previous pair of prequels, as Dalton heads to college. Upon being away from his family, he begins to experience similar hauntings as those he experienced when he was a child. Even from afar, Josh begins to experience the same familiar hauntings as his son.
Byrne told Collider that Wilson approached directing the film with a lot of love for the genre and the franchise. She said, ""He really wanted to make it ... about the original cast ... and the effect on the family. Then also to delve into the classic horror stuff, and all the tropes and all of the things the fans love." Byrne said working with Ty Simpkins and Patrick Wilson again was fun for her and it was wild to reunite after starring together in the original "Insidious" back in 2010. Some of that familial ease may have even helped Wilson with directing his first film.
Patrick Wilson was primed and ready to direct the sequel
"Insidious: Fear the Dark" star Rose Byrne told Collider that first-time filmmaker Patrick Wilson had no problem stepping up and helming the fifth installment in the horror franchise. She said of working with Wilson, "We have a very natural ease. He's very down to earth ... and he's such a pro." As for Wilson pivoting from only acting in the series to additionally taking the director's chair this time, Byrne added, "I thought it felt like a natural progression that he would want to continue the story."
Byrne said Wilson worked hard with "Halloween Kills" writer Scott Teems to get the script for "Fear the Dark" just right, mentioning that they started working on the movie in 2019. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, it just gave the filmmakers more time to develop and fine-tune the script. She also credits Wilson's years-long relationship with producer James Wan — who also directed Wilson in "Aquaman" and "The Conjuring" — for setting up Wilson's directorial debut to be successful. She said, "[Wilson] has been doing it for so long ... he's James' muse in many ways." The big family reunion in "Insidious: Fear the Dark" arrives in theaters July 7, 2023.