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The next prequel in The Conjuring franchise is officially moving forward, with an award-winning director in talks to come aboard the project. The franchise recently released The Conjuring: Last Rites, which concluded the story of the Warren family.
Even though Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson’s time in the franchise is over, many potential Conjuring spinoffs remain to further extend the franchise. This includes a prequel, about which there has been a great deal of speculation.
Per The Hollywood Reporter‘s Borys Kit, the prequel is now “a go movie for New Line” after Last Rites grossed nearly $500 million at the worldwide box office. Short film director Rodrigue Huart is in talks to direct the film.
Huart’s vampire short film, Transylvanie, won the Midnight Short Jury Award at SXSW 2024. His short films Trigger and Real, both of which premiered at Fantasia 2024, combine found footage and digital horror.
It was reported in June that Paramount Pictures acquired Huart’s Suffer Little Children script and that he would direct the film, which is a reimagining of the 1976 Spanish horror movie Who Can Kill A Child? Walter Hamada is producing Suffer Little Children.
In addition to being a director gaining increasingly more recognition in the horror genre, Huart’s connection to Hamada has likely contributed to being considered to helm The Conjuring prequel. Hamada has been an executive producer for numerous The Conjuring movies, including The Conjuring (2013), Annabelle (2014), The Conjuring 2 (2016), Annabelle: Creation (2017), and The Nun (2018).
If Huart is officially signed onto the prequel, this will be the first installment in The Conjuring Universe since Annabelle Comes Home (2019) that hasn’t been directed by Michael Chaves. He directed The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021), The Nun II (2023), and Last Rites.
James Wan, who directed The Conjuring and The Conjuring 2, has remained integral to the expanding horror series. However, there have been reports of James Wan exiting the franchise due to a pay dispute, meaning he is unlikely to be involved in the prequel. With the project now moving forward, it appears that Warner Bros. is confident about the franchise being able to move forward without Wan.
There are still many details that need to be finalized for The Conjuring prequel, but it is happening, likely with Huart as the director. This is good news for the franchise and for fans who want to see the story continue after Last Rites, whose box office numbers were instrumental in this development.
- Cast
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Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Ron Livingston, Lili Taylor, Joey King, Mackenzie Foy, Madison Wolfe, John Noble, Ruairi O’Connor, Ward Horton, Annabelle Wallis, Alfre Woodard, Tony Amendola, Anthony LaPaglia, Miranda Otto, Brad Greenquist, Lulu Wilson, Talitha Bateman, Grace Caroline Currey, Mckenna Grace, Taissa Farmiga, Bonnie Aarons, Demián Bichir, Jonas Bloquet
- Movie(s)
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The Conjuring, The Conjuring 2, The Conjuring 3, Annabelle, Annabelle: Creation, Annabelle Comes Home, The Nun, The Nun II
