Hollywood horror has seen a bit of a bounce back in recent years following a slightly subdued decade during the 2010s. Granted, it wasn’t without its standouts, like James Wan’s The Conjuring and James DeMonaco kicking off The Purge franchise with its namesake film, produced by Blumhouse Productions.
Such hits are about to have a fair bit more in common – James Wan and Jason Blum are reportedly in late-stage discussions to merge their production companies, Atomic Monster and Blumhouse Productions respectively, to form a horror production powerhouse.
The pair is optimistic about the prospect of merging their companies. Blum noted to the publication that he is more business-minded whereas Wan has more of a creative mind. Such a dynamic reminds us of Peter Safran and James Gunn joining forces to co-head the freshly-rebranded DC Studios.
“We really do complement each other, yin and yang, which is part of what makes this so exciting,” said Wan of the potential partnership.
Atomic Monster will reportedly be absorbed into the Blumhouse Productions entity, while the Saw director’s segment of the business will retain full creative autonomy.
Wan will also be receiving a substantial stake in Blumhouse, however, Jason Blum will still remain the majority stakeholder, according to sources close to the deal speaking with the New York Times.
Wan and Blum have each been responsible for generating billions of dollars of revenue in the horror genre for horror studios, each setting a high bar with some of the spookiest films to grace cinema screens in the 21st century.
Granted, this won’t be the first time the pair have joined forces to terrify audiences, having put their heads together on Insidious, released back in 2010.
As far as what the horror powerhouses are currently up to, Wan is currently in post-production on Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (which will be terrifying in its own right if Amber Heard is still involved), while Blum is gearing up for the release of M3GAN in Jan. 2023.