After yesterday's announcement of an Insidious sequel, this statement from Leigh Whannell seemed to confirm that it would not be a standalone story : "Both of us feel that we can mine more terror from the world we created and know that if we assemble every member of the original team, we will have an amazing continuation of the story for fans of the first film."
While that quote may leave some room for interpretation, Leigh Whannell confirmed in a recent interview that characters from the first movie will be returning:
"Are any characters returning, or does the sequel explore themes from the original in an entirely new way?
There are definitely characters returning, but I can’t say much more than that. That may be annoying - but not as annoying as spoilers! The first film had mystery and we want the sequel to have the same thing."
He obviously isn't ready to reveal specific details now, but the casting process should give us a good idea of what direction they're going in. Will Insidious 2 pick up right where the first left off? Are they giving us a prequel? What would you like to see?