He has primarily worked in the horror genre as the co-creator of the Saw and Insidious franchises and the creator of The Conjuring Universe.

[3][4] Following a period of setbacks,[5] Wan found new success with the Insidious series, in which he directed the first film in 2010 and its 2013 sequel.

Both Furious 7 and Aquaman grossed over $1 billion, making Wan the eighth director with two films to reach the milestone.

[12] Prior to 2003, Wan and his friend, fellow filmmaker Leigh Whannell, had begun writing a script for a horror film, citing their dreams and fears as inspiration for its plot.

Meanwhile, he and Whannell have predominantly served as executive producers to the sequels Saw II, Saw III, Saw IV,[17] Saw V, Saw VI, Saw 3D, Jigsaw, Spiral and Saw X.

[5] Dead Silence featured Australian actor Ryan Kwanten and is based on the premise of a legend, whereby the ghost of a ventriloquist, Mary Shaw, removes the tongue of any person who screams in its presence.

[25][26] The film's protagonist (Kevin Bacon) was a father seeking revenge for his murdered son, who was killed by a local gang.

[31][32] Author Garfield later stated, "I think that, except for its ludicrous violence toward the end, the Death Sentence movie does depict its character's decline and the stupidity of vengeful vigilantism," adding, "As a story it made the point I wanted it to make.

The film began its American theatrical release in the first weekend of April 2011 and achieved third place at the box office, with an estimated US$13.5 million in ticket sales.

Wan stated in an interview, "the fact that Insidious was not being run by a committee really afforded me the luxury to make a film with lots of creepy, bizarre moments that a studio might not 'get.

[37] Wan's next film, The Conjuring (2013), centered on the real life exploits of husband and wife Ed and Lorraine Warren, a married couple that investigated paranormal events.

[39] The film focused on the couple's most famous case second to the Amityville haunting, in which they investigated a witch's curse on a Rhode Island family farm.

In his second collaboration with the pair, Patrick Wilson starred in the film, with him and Vera Farmiga playing the husband and wife respectively.

Wan was part of a directorial shortlist alongside Jeff Wadlow, Baltasar Kormákur and Harald Zwart.

[60] Wan later produced Demonic, a Dimension Films horror movie that was scheduled for a December 2014 release, alongside Lee Clay.

Wan conceived the idea for the film, which was directed by Will Canon and features Maria Bello in the lead role.

[68] In 2019, Wan developed a television series based on the character Swamp Thing, for the DC Universe streaming service.

[71] In February 2018, Wan was confirmed to executive produce the animated adaptation of Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo comic book series.

[73] In 2021, Wan directed the horror film Malignant, starring Annabelle Wallis and co-produced the film adaptation of the slasher novel There's Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins, under his Atomic Monster label, alongside Shawn Levy's 21 Laps Entertainment for Netflix.

[82] In March 2020, Wan was announced to be working with Universal Pictures to produce a modern remake of Frankenstein.

[87] Wan will produce the horror film Border Patrol with Screen Gems, with Johannes Roberts directing the movie.

Roberto Patino is set to write the screenplay, while Wan, Michael Clear from Atomic Monster, Shawn Levy, Dan Cohen, and Dan Levine from 21 Laps Entertainment, Peter Chernin from Chernin Entertainment are set to produce.

[89][90][91] In October 2023, Disney Branded Television announced a Gargoyles live-action reboot with Wan and Michael Clear, joining the executive producing ranks.

[98] Wan was also at one point attached to the director role for a live action Robotech film for Sony, but was replaced by Andy Muschietti in July 2017.

[102] On June 22, 2019, Wan became engaged to Romanian actress Ingrid Bisu, making the announcement on his Instagram account.

[104] Critical, public and commercial reception to films James Wan has directed as of 16 September 2021: Atomic MonsterStarlight Media Inc.My Entertainment Inc.