While numerous long-running horror franchises fall into the trap of making later installments carbon copies of early installments, Warner Bros. will look to avoid making this mistake with its third Conjuring film.
Although Warner Bros. has yet to assign The Conjuring 3 an official release date, the film seems to be all but a sure thing, especially since 2013’s The Conjuring and 2016’s The Conjuring 2 performed impressively at the box office, grossing $312 million on a $20 million budget and $320 million on a $40 million budget, respectively. As it turns out, according to a recently released interview from CinemaBlend on the set of Annabelle: Creation last summer, series producer Peter Safran is already in the early stages of brainstorming and developing ideas for a sequel.
On his plans for a third movie and where Ed and Lorraine Warren’s story can go next, Safran said, “There are some [cases] that maybe aren’t as well known, but they spent a fair bit of time researching and were part of [them]. Clearly we can’t do another haunted house movie, right? We can’t do another supernatural possession in a house, with a family in peril. Right? So, it’s got to be something different than that, I think.”
As Safran states, in the first two Conjuring films, the Warrens (played by Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson) investigate cases of witches and demons terrorizing Harrisville, Rhode Island and the London Borough of Enfield families. In real life, the two investigated thousands of chill-inducing cases that the franchise can use as inspiration for several more movies. “There are a lot of places to go, and there’s a fair bit of material there,” Safran concluded.
The Conjuring’s success comes not only from director James Wan’s ability to craft effective old-fashioned scares but from his adeptness in keeping each film fresh and unpredictable. If previous reports are any indication, it’s unlikely that he’ll return to the director’s chair for the next installment due to scheduling conflicts, so although his particular vision will be sidelined, it’s comforting to hear that the creative team behind the movie isn’t looking to deliver more of the same.