Okay, I’m seeing a lot more kvetching about my “Insidious is the 11th house” theory. I’m going to lay out the evidence, as I see/know it. This will actually give a bit of a peak behind my curtain, especially regarding timelines of when I hear things. Everything here is independent of HRRR discussion, and focuses only rumors, facts, assumptions, and my personal knowledge regarding Insidious and HHN.
Timeline
- Early December, I hear Insidious could come back.
- Mid-December, I hear 12 houses may be possible.
(EDIT - I heard these two rumors from two, completely disconnected sources. I wanted to clarify.)
- First of the year, 10 permits drop with 24A missing.
Here’s what we (collectively) KNOW:
- Last year, Insidious was in 24A.
- We do not currently have a permit for 24A.
- If a house is already built, it does not need NEW build permits if reused the following year. We can see this, specifically, from 2020-2021 where new permits did not drop for completed houses that were not struck.
- In 2015, when Universal increased from 8 to 9 houses, they did so by returning a HOTY IP house (American Werewolf). The reception to that return is irrelevant to the logic and methodology.
- Insidious 6 had an original release date of 29 August 2025. That date got pushed to 2026 on 30 January 2025 (so, after a decision would have been made for an Insidious house to return). That means Universal could have logically planned for the house to return as a tie-in to the new movie.
- Soundstage 24 is a single building that can only be rented as a single space (“Soundstage 24”) USF Production Group | Stages & Backlot. It is not two different buildings.
What we can logically assume based on other evidence:
- Because, in the past, venues with only one house did not differentiate between an A/B, SS24, if it only contains one house (regardless of size) does not to differentiate between A/B. (A lot of this is supported by my older knowledge from the aughts, but there are more recent examples).
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What I Know/What I’m Confident On (you can disregard it, but this is a lot of background knowledge from… you know… being me):
- Striking (tearing down) houses can run into December and January. In there past, there has been as few as three weeks between a soundstage getting cleared and prep work beginning for the next year. That timeline was almost ten years ago. It would logically be much shorter now.
- The “line” between A/B in the soundstages is ephemeral. It shifts from year to year based on the house designs. It’s not a definitive painted line used for permitting purposes (as seen in photos, and supported by Production’s rental website).
- Changing the DECOR of a house, but not changing any load-bearing walls pr electrical (to include repainting and paneling) does not require a new permit.
Again, this is all a speculative theory. I will acquiesce a possibility that the house slated for 24A moved (potentially to 25) after plans were finalized for 24B, and so 24B was not updated for a minor administrative thing. It’s also possible that my theory WAS accurate until Insidious 6 had its release date moved, after which Universal decided to strike the house with no replacement.
While I doubt the idea that “24B as the only permit is purely an administrative mistake” (it’s too ingrained into house plans and seen by too many people to get missed like that), there is an outside chance that’s what happened.
So, there’s the logic. Again. There’s an element of conspiracy-brained cope to the theory, but the evidence aligns in a way that makes it nearly impossible for me to shake.