Is James Wan About to Leave 'The Conjuring' Universe Behind?

James Wan has been a staple of the modern horror landscape for years now. I remember the early days of his name first appearing on projects like Saw and Dead Silence, eventually alongside another big name, Blumhouse.

Wan helped build one of the most successful horror franchises by delving into the real-life antics of supernatural warriors Ed and Lorraine Warren (played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga), starting with the now-classic The Conjuring and expanding into other cases and characters like Annabelle and The Nun.

For horror fans, last weekend's success for The Conjuring: Last Rites is a boon (and just a continuation of Warner Bros.' incredible summer success, which is good news for filmmaking overall).

The film surprised with an $83 million weekend box office (per CNN). Then it went on to become the biggest horror opener of all time, worldwide, according to Deadline.

But despite this success, all might not be peaceful in The Conjuring franchise, it turns out.

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If you're not deep in the horror sewers like me and have no idea what's happening, here's a primer.

James Wan is an Australian writer/director/producer who operates mostly in the horror genre, though he's been involved with Aquaman and the Fast & Furious worlds, too. He's the co-creator of the Saw and Insidious franchises and the creator of The Conjuring franchise… which is the highest-grossing horror franchise of all time, by the way.

His shingle is Atomic Monster.

According to reporting from Puck, Wan's future with the Warrens seems to be in doubt.

"Atomic Monster's deal requires Warners to credit and pay Wan on all future Conjuring movies, as well as a planned TV series," Puck reports.

Atomic Monster (which merged with Blumhouse in 2024) wants a higher cut of future works.

The company first asked for half of the profits from future films, but then they brought it down to 25% for the next movie and 50% for the ones after that. Warner Bros. hasn't said yes to those terms yet.

The studio is arguing that Wan has not been as active on recent projects.

Puck's sources told the publication that Wan needs to fulfill certain producing services or face breach of contract. This could result in Atomic Monster being removed from future projects altogether.

Either way, we haven't seen the last of the franchise, with a prequel film already rumored.

Let us know what you think.