For almost all of 2012, we’ve been aware that James Wan would direct and Leigh Whannell would write, respectively, a sequel to their massive horror hit Insidious. A big note on the project, yes, but also one so obvious and inevitable that its actual announcement was, if you will, not unlike someone telling you work was cancelled as a snowstorm raged outside — your reaction can be positive, but it can’t be nonplussed, too. The bigger questions, the ones we didn’t have a clear answer to, are starting to come to light, though, and we’ve got the information for you to digest.

First up, the original film’s central cast — Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Lin Shaye, Ty Simpkins, and probably these guys — are coming back for Insidious Chapter 2 (the lack of a colon is baffling), this being another round of getting scared-up. General audiences will get to see them in this unfortunate state pretty soon, by the way, since the release date is less than a year away: August 30th, 2013. While that doesn’t leave much time for Wan to shoot — production isn’t even kicking off for another two months — we’re also talking about a guy who can put films out at (what feels like) lightning speed. [STYD]

The ending of Insidious leaves a really good place for Wan and Whannell to begin their new story — naturally, I think this is where things will kick off. After it’s done, we can finally see a big-screen MacGyver, and that’s all we should be focusing on for the near future.

While we’re at it, here’s a new image from Wan‘s The Conjuring, also starring Patrick Wilson and opening on July 19th, 2013 (via STYD):

Are you glad to see everyone coming back for Insidious Chapter 2?