Annabelle Wallishas signed on forJames Wan’s upcoming thriller, which is still shrouded (for the most part) in mystery. This marks the second time Wallis and Wan have joined forces. Their first collaboration happened in 2014 withThe ConjuringspinoffAnnabelle, which starred Wallis.
Wallis is coming off a supporting role on theRoger Ailes-focused Showtime dramaThe Loudest Voicewhere she played Fox News stafferLaurie Luhn.Varietywas one of the first outlets to break the news of her casting. Details on Wan’s film have slowly emerged since the project wasfirst announced in July. The plot is unconfirmed but we do know filming starts in September in Los Angeles. Wan will eschew over-the-top visual effects in favor of a return to practical effects and a reliance on realism to help tell what is likely another unnerving story.
Wan has also re-teamed withIngrid Bisu(The Nun) to develop the untitled thriller’s story. New Line Cinema, the studio behindThe Conjuring,LightsOut, andThe Curse of La Llorona, will distribute the film.Wan has deemed his next projecta “hard-R thriller” and provided some enticing behind-the-scenes photos of possible shooting locations. Among the featured photos posted to Wan’s Instagram were ones showing off mannequins, a sterile operation room, and a horse mural. It’s still tough to see how it all connects but there should be no doubt that however these locations and objects figure into Wan’s film, they will help heighten the inevitable tension theConjuringdirector will infuse into the story.
In addition to starring in Wan’s next movie, Wallis will be seen in two upcoming action thrillers:Boss Level, co-starringNaomi WattsandMel Gibson, andThe Silencing, co-starringNikolaj-Coster Waldau. As for Wan, he’ll soon move on toAquaman 2and will direct the pilot episode of Netflix’sThe Magic Order, adapted from theMark Millarcomic of the same name.
