The Conjuring franchise is not done haunting theaters. After Last Rites tore it up at the box office this fall, Warner Bros. is moving on a prequel, and the behind-the-scenes pieces are starting to click into place.
The quick refresher
The Conjuring: Last Rites hit U.S. theaters in September as the fourth main entry in the series and has already pulled in nearly $500 million worldwide. Off that momentum, reports surfaced that Warner Bros. Pictures wanted a prequel. Earlier today, Rodrigue Huart landed in talks to direct it.
Who is making this thing
- Director: Rodrigue Huart (in talks)
- Writers: Richard Naing and Ian Goldberg (the duo behind Last Rites)
- Producers: Peter Safran and James Wan
- Executive producers: Michael Clear, Judson Scott, Natalia Safran, John Rickard
- Status: Prequel in development at Warner Bros. Pictures/New Line; plot locked down tight; casting not announced; no release date yet
About that James Wan situation
There was real uncertainty about whether Wan would stay involved after a pay dispute. No numbers have been shared and nobody is spelling out the compromise, but per Jeff Sneider's The InSneider, Wan is back onboard as a producer. The way Sneider puts it:
"clearly reached a deal with New Line, where the Conjuring franchise has kept the lights on for the past 12 years."
Translation: whatever the holdup was, they sorted it out to keep the house that Annabelle built humming.
Plot and casting (aka the foggiest part)
Plot details are under wraps, and since this is a prequel, it would be surprising to see Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga back as Ed and Lorraine in their current timeline. Warner Bros. has not said if they will recast the roles or bring back Madison Lawlor and Orion Smith, who played younger versions of the Warrens in Last Rites. That is still up in the air.
When can we see it?
No release date yet. I will update when the studio locks that down.