![\"Aquaman\" star Patrick Wilson speaks to the media at Regal's annual red carpet premiere for Variety at Regal Pinnacle Stadium 18, Thursday, Dec. 13, 2018.Aquaman1213 3955](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_4928,h_2772/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ReutersImages/mmsport/304/01kxkb2jb1ykq0yfrqm9.jpg "\\"Aquaman\\" star Patrick Wilson speaks to the media at Regal's annual red carpet premiere for Variety at Regal Pinnacle Stadium 18, Thursday, Dec. 13, 2018.Aquaman1213 3955")
For more than a decade now, The Conjuring franchise has been one of the most prolific and successful series in all of horror. The original film, directed by genre veteran James Wan, was widely praised by critics and audiences alike upon release in 2013, made a venerated killing at the box office, and has endured on as something of a modern classic ever since. In addition to this storied reputation, the original has also survived off the back of its copious amount of follow-ups.
As of this writing, there are four mainline Conjuring films, three Annabelle films (spin-offs centering on the standout possessed doll from the first movie), two The Nun movies (spin-offs centering on the standout possessed nun from the second movie), and one La Llorona movie, which no one can quite seem to agree if it’s actually a part of the interconnected universe or not (it was originally supposed to be, but then those plans were scrapped last minute, but it was made by much of the same team as the latter Conjuring sequels, so things are hazy at best).
The most recent installment of all of these, The Conjuring: Last Rites, was very much pitched to audiences as the final installment in the series. However, just days before release, official press materials began referring to the film as the end of “Phase One” of the Conjuring universe, implying that there would be much more to come. And now, we seem to have official confirmation that the franchise will be carrying on, and in a wholly new way, as the series has recast the roles of Ed and Lorraine Warren.
These lead roles have been played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga ever since the first film in 2013. To be honest, for two highly respected actors, it’s kind of insane how committed each of them has been to the larger Conjuring universe. They each appeared in every mainline Conjuring film and were even heavily featured in offshoots like Annabelle Comes Home. However, it would appear as if the franchise has plans of moving on without either of these actors returning, seeing Last Rites as a sendoff to their takes on the characters. Instead, the next Conjuring film will be a prequel starring Garrett Wareing and Amanda Fix in the role of the Warrens.
Bafflingly, this is actually the second time that the role of the Warrens have been recast. The creative team was clearly eager to test drive the idea of doing a young Warrens prequel even before Last Rites had wrapped, as the opening prologue of that ‘final’ film featured a flashback scene where Orion Smith Madison Lawlor played Ed and Lorraine.
They were both quite good in the sequence, which makes it all the stranger that the series didn’t simply elect to stick with this duo, as they had already been introduced to audiences and earned pretty unanimous praise. But now, instead, it has been revealed that Wareing and Fix will take over in the upcoming film, The Conjuring: First Communion.
Maybe the studios wanted bigger names to hang the film on; maybe Smith and Lawlor were never meant to be anything more than post-hoc additions to the previous film. But considering that Last Rites just came out last year, it seems like an oddly whiplash-inducing move from a franchise that has gone to great lengths previously to preserve continuity. Whatever the case may be, we’ll all find out when The Conjuring: First Communion releases in 2027.
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