Patrick Wilson was convinced to return for Insidious: The Red Door after he was offered the opportunity to direct the supernatural horror film.
After starring in 2011’s hit supernatural horror movie Insidious and its 2013 sequel Insidious: Chapter 2, Patrick Wilson left the Blumhouse-produced series, assuming that his days fighting supernatural beings in the cinematic universe created by Leigh Whannell and James Wan were over. “It wasn’t out of, ugh, my god. I love these guys,” Wilson told Entertainment Weekly. “I have such great memories of making those movies. I just thought, ‘Okay, I’ve saved someone from being possessed and I’ve been possessed. What else is there to do?'”
Wilson’s return to the franchise was prompted by several factors, including Blumhouse founder Jason Blum’s desire to continue, Whannell’s seed of an idea for a fifth entry, and Wilson’s chance to direct. “Leigh Whannell had written a 15-, 20-page outline: Dalton going to college and then s— happens,” Wilson explained. “[My character] was in it for a little bit. They pitched it to my agent originally. Because we had been actively looking for projects [for me] to direct, my agent said to Blumhouse, ‘What if he directs the movie?’ And they were like, ‘That’s a perfect idea.’ So then they pitched it to me.'”
Insidious Calls Patrick Wilson Back
Wilson received the call on the first day of filming for his role in The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, the most recent installment in Wilson’s other supernatural franchise, which began with 2013’s James Wan-directed The Conjuring. “I said, ‘Just hold on a sec,'” Wilson recalls. “I didn’t feel like I wanted my first foray into directing to be a horror movie or to be trying to fill James’ shoes. I sat on it for about a day, and then I realized, ‘Are you kidding me? Of course, I want to do this.’ Where else are you going to get this opportunity? And I started to think about the story, about what I would want to do.”
While fans may be excited about Wilson’s return in Insidious: The Red Door, this is likely his last time playing the role of Josh Lambert. When asked if he would hang up the role after this installment, Wilson said, “Well, the quick answer is yes, but I will say, and this is probably not the best way to sell a movie, but it would be cool if way down the line, if Insidious was like the Boyhood of horror movies. Ty could do these movies for a long time. I think that’s really exciting as a filmmaker to do that and think it’s exciting for an audience to see that. I’m sure it’s exciting for a studio because the IP doesn’t go away for a studio. But Josh and Renai? Speaking on behalf of Rose [Byrne], no. I think we close our door.”
Source: Entertainment Weekly