The Conjuring 4 is in the works, but this next movie may be the last for James Wan’s horror series about the alleged demon-hunting power couple Ed and Lorraine Warren. Although the mainline Conjuring films have always told the various misadventures of real-life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, the franchise has branched out into several successful spin-off franchises, including Annabelle, The Nun, and The Curse of La Llorona. Although there are plans for several more films in The Conjuring Universe, The Conjuring 4 may cut the horror franchise short.
Back in October, much to the delight of horror fans who like their scares with a healthy dose of romance, it was announced that a fourth The Conjuring film was in the works, with David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick returning to pen the script. Johnson-McGoldrick previously wrote the script for The Conjuring 2 as well as The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. In 2021, the third Conjuring movie pushed the entire franchise to over $2 billion at the global box office, making it the most successful horror franchise in history.
In an interview with hollywood about his upcoming horror movie, M3GAN, The Conjuring director James Wan dropped a few hints about the creative team’s plans for the haunted Warren universe. When asked about his upcoming work in The Conjuring 4 and what would come after, the director kept things vague.
“Yeah, we are working on it right now. With the Conjuring films, we are very precious about [them]. And so we kind of want to just take our time to make sure we get it right and to make sure the emotion of the Warren stories that we want to tell, and moving into, and potentially wrapping up, we just want to make sure that it’s the right thing, the right story that we’re telling.”
When pressed for confirmation that The Conjuring 4 would be the last entry, Wan said, “We never know. You never know. We’ll see.”
After eight films (and two more on the way), perhaps a mention of wrapping things up is no surprise to fans of The Conjuring series. However, Wan didn’t fully commit to confirming the series’ end while speaking to Collider, leaving the door open just enough for the possibility of another paranormal encounter after The Conjuring 4.
Although he later clarified that there is a chance for more movies, James Wan’s comments hint that The Conjuring Universe could be coming to a close soon, putting an end to the franchise that has been running for over a decade.
Nobody is sure why James Wan is teasing that The Conjuring Universe could be ending soon, as the movies are still incredibly successful. The third film, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, was the lowest-grossing film in the franchise, but it still made over $200 million at the box office while facing COVID-19 and a simultaneous HBO Max release. This proves that The Conjuring Universe still has legs to stand on. Even though James Wan has moved on to other projects, other directors have taken over The Conjuring movies, making the potential decision to wrap up the series even stranger.
