That Evil Nun From 'The Conjuring 2' Is Getting Her Own 'Annabelle'-Style Spin-Off
The Conjuring 2 is one of the best horror sequels ever made, which is a brazen statement that I backed up with a couple thousand words earlier this week. It's not quite as good as The Conjuring, but that film is one of the best horror movies of the millennium so far and the sequel is just a fantastic time at the movies. We can all live with that.
And while the sequel deliberately echoed certain beats of the first film on screen, it's now echoing it in reality. Much like how The Conjuring inspired a spin-off for Annabelle the possessed doll, The Conjuring 2 has inspired The Nun, which will center around the demonic and blasphemous presence Ed and Lorraine Warren combat in their new movie.
The news comes our way via The Hollywood Reporter, who report that The Conjuring 2 co-writer David Leslie Johnson has been hired to pen the script. Director James Wan will produce alongside Peter Safran, who produced both Conjuring movies. No director is attached to the film yet.
As the sole member of the Annabelle fan club, I'm very interested to see the Conjuring-verse continue to expand. These spin-off movies face an uphill battle because they can't rely on the soul Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga bring to the main films, but there's nothing wrong with horror movies that exist solely as vehicles for scares. Annabelle isn't a great movie by any means, but it's perfectly spooky and more fun than most people give it credit for. In any case, the Nun (whose real identity is actually a bit of a spoiler) certainly feels frightening enough to carry her own movie. It's been a week since I saw The Conjuring 2 and I'm still thinking about that damn scene with the painting. You know the one.
THR also notes some very interesting trivia that you can use to impress people at your next social function – the Nun wasn't even in the original cut of the movie, but was added through reshoots and digital trickery three months before the film premiered after James Wan decided to overhaul his main villain:
The studio and Wan had a cut of the movie, which stars Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as paranormal investigators, in which the antagonist was a demonic figure with horns. The studio was ready to release that version but at the last minute, Wan was struck by a revelation. And so he came up with a new concept, a demon nun, which he pitched to New Line. And even though the late-in-the-game change could have spooked some studios, New Line exec gave him their blessing.
If The Nun follows the pattern set by Annabelle, it will probably be in theaters sometime in 2017. Meanwhile, Annabelle 2 is in development with director David Sandberg at the helm.