©Courtesy of Warner Brothers
Ed and Lorraine Warren, the paranormal investigators, will return for another “Conjuring” movie that audiences haven’t seen before. Warner Bros. is currently in the process of developing a prequel film. New Line is in the process of hiring short film director Rodrigue Huart to direct.
The screenplay will be written by franchise veterans Richard Naing and Ian Goldberg, who have co-written the two previous “Conjuring” films, 2023’s “The Nun II” and this September’s “The Conjuring: Last Rites.” At this time, there are no deals that have been settled.
“The Conjuring: Last Rites” was promised to be the last installment in the paranormal series. The film’s success at the box office and the franchise-best $487 million globally made it clear that it wouldn’t be the case. This next instalment is expected to return to the origins, focusing on the early years of the ghost-hunting couple, played by Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson. That will likely mean new actors stepping in to carry the “Conjuring” Universe forward or hiring Orion Smith and Madison Lawlor who played the young version of Ed & Lorraine Warren in “The Conjuring : Last Rites” again.
Separately, “The Conjuring” is expanding to the small screen with HBO in development on a television series that will continue the story established in the feature films.
The plot is still unknown, but Nancy Won has been appointed as the show’s writer, executive producer, and showrunner. “The Conjuring” universe has been the highest-grossing horror franchise in history with a combined $2.7 billion, with nine films (including spinoffs such as “Annabelle” and “The Nun“). Furthermore, they are frequently low-cost, resulting in high profit margins.
Huart doesn’t have any feature credits to his name but has helmed several short films including “Transylvanie,” which won a jury prize at SXSW in 2024. He’s also writing and directing “Suffer Little Children,” a remake of the 1976 Spanish horror film “Who Can Kill a Child?” for Paramount.
It’s unclear whether Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson will return for the upcoming cinematic entry after “The Conjuring : Last Rites” concluded the story of the Warren family. James Wan remains closely involved as a producer through his company, Atomic Monster.