The Conjuring: Last Rites marks the end of The Conjuring Universe, a horror franchise that has spanned over a decade and features four mainline Conjuring films, an Annabelle trilogy, two Nun films, and the somewhat connected The Curse of La Llorona. As of this writing, the 10 films in the franchise have generated over $2.5 billion at the worldwide box office on a franchise budget of $271 million. It is the highest-grossing horror franchise of all time. For years, The Conjuring was easily the second most successful shared universe, behind only the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Yet now the curtain is being called on paranormal hunters Ed and Lorraine Warren, played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga, respectively. Wilson, Farmiga, co-stars Mia Tomlinson, and Ben Hardy, along with director Michael Chaves and franchise producer James Wan, spoke at a roundtable to discuss The Conjuring: Last Rites. The group discussed the franchise’s legacy, what they wanted to bring to the final film, and, despite this being the end, what might be in store for the series’ future.
Creating a Horror Franchise
The Conjuring opened in theaters on July 19, 2013, and almost overnight revitalized the horror genre. It would become the third major horror franchise director James Wan would launch, following 2004’s Saw and 2011’s Insidious. Wan would return to direct 2016’s The Conjuring 2. While Wan has been heavily involved in the franchise as a producer, he has stepped aside and let other directors take the series in a new direction. Over the years, these have included David F. Sandberg’s Annabelle Creation and Gary Dauberman on both The Nun and Annabelle Comes Home. Regarding the franchise direction, Wan said:
“That was part of the fun in creating the overall world, shaping what I wanted the world to be like and feel like. At some point, I realized I can’t and don’t want to be directing every single one of these movies. It’s a great opportunity to find a new up-and-coming filmmaker and give them the chance to play in this world and it’s been great. It’s what I’ve been doing for the past 10 years.”
Wan might have been the director to launch the franchise, but the franchise directing record belongs to Michael Chaves. The Conjuring: Last Rites marks Chaves’ fourth film in the franchise, having first directed The Curse of La Llorona and followed it with The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It and The Nun II. Chaves was there from the beginning, not as a creative part of the franchise, but as a fan watching the movies.
“I was there with all of you when I saw the first one and fell in love with this series and these characters and the world,” said Chaves. “I love this series. I would keep making Conjuring movies; they had to pull me away from it. I’m so glad I’m not the one who made the decision this would be the last one, because if it was up to me, I would keep making Conjuring movies until the day I died.”
Saying Goodbye to the Warrens and ‘The Conjuring’
The Conjuring: Last Rites is the final chapter in The Conjuring Universe. Given the deep love that fans (and many of the creatives) have for the series, it puts considerable pressure on the film. “I felt that pressure,” said star Vera Farmiga, who has played Lorraine Warren in all four Conjuring films and had small roles and cameos in many of the spin-offs. For Farmiga, beneath all the terror, the film needed to capture the relationship between Ed and Lorraine Warren accurately. Farmiga said:
“How do you come back and turn up that dial to 11? [Patrick] and I have made casting out demons romantic [laughs]. How do we bring even more love? These are two people who finish exorcisms together but also finish each other’s sentences. How do we bring all those things the fans are hankering for, which I think is the love. Audiences have fallen in love with what Ed and Lorraine represent. In the middle of all this chaos and terror is this unwavering and tender connection between them…”
Some might question why the main Conjuring films are coming to an end, given their continued success. Yet the decision to end the series while it was still going strong was one many of the creatives made together, from James Wan and producer Peter Safran to director Michael Chaves and even stars Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson. Regarding finding out that The Conjuring: Last Rites would be the final film in the franchise, and what was important, Wilson, who plays Ed Warren, said:
“We knew going in, this wasn’t a surprise. It was partly for us. You don’t want to just keep going back to the well if you aren’t doing anything different. We didn’t set out to do this massive franchise. Each film was built on the last one, and I think they knew the third Conjuring [The Devil Made Me Do It] wanted to be a bit of a departure, more of a murder mystery. I think they knew that was always a stand-alone in a strange way and thought, ‘how do we bring it back to the spirit of the first two?’ We knew they wanted to bookend with the most emotional movie… there is an added sense of sentimentality.”
What was the key to the story, one that would give the film the feeling of a proper conclusion as opposed to just another haunting case? Chaves revealed that it all came back to the family, which has been at the center of the series since The Conjuring.
“I think the biggest thing with it is, ultimately, this is a journey we’ve been on with the Warrens and looking at it as a family story and trying to tell a final chapter to their family story. So much of the experience of the movie is we were saying goodbye. Goodbye Ed and Lorraine, to Patrick and Vera, we’re saying goodbye to this incredible series we’ve been a part of for like 12 years… It is hard to say goodbye and I think it is hard when you are coming to these final chapter movies. I think that is why we leaned into the story of parents and children, and their relationship with Judy and saying goodbye to their daughter and giving her away. It was a great metaphor; they are going on this journey, saying goodbye to her, we are going on this journey, saying goodbye to the Warrens.”
New Faces, New Potential Franchise Leads?
With The Conjuring: Last Rites taking place in 1986, it is 15 years after the events of The Conjuring, the Warrens’ daughter Judy is all grown up. Previously played by Sterling Jerins in The Conjuring and The Conjuring 2 and McKenna Grace in Annabelle Comes Home, this fourth film in the franchise now sees Mia Tomlinson step into the role of an adult version of Judy. With Judy being an essential part of the franchise, Tomlinson spoke about following in the footsteps of those who came before her and how she approached her character. Tomlinson said:
“Michael Chaves, our amazing director, was very encouraging for me to make my own Judy and not take too much from what came before, but also I wanted to honor that. Sterling [Jerins] and [McKenna] Grace were brilliant in their roles in their own right. I took a lot from Grace in terms of Annabelle Comes Home. I really studied and enjoyed the way she was discreet and guarded in her approach to the character that resembled the real Judy.”
Tomlinson spoke to the real Judy Warren before production and revealed that Warren’s daughter gave her a piece of advice that helped inform her portrayal.
“When I went to meet the real Judy Warren, she was very open about the fact that she is terrified of it. She lived with her grandma; she didn’t grow up with them [her parents] because they were always traveling, and I think that speaks volumes. She gave me this mantra that I sort of took with me throughout the whole filming process, which is ‘Don’t look at it, don’t give it recognition,’ and that was the mantra she said to herself about the artifacts room, about Annabelle… I’m very excited for this film because we see that play out, and it was particularly challenging for me as an actor to play the role of a character who is so internalized and keeps that energy in, which is very different from myself personally.”
Joining Tomlinson is Ben Hardy, playing Judy’s fiancé and future husband, Tony Spera. Hardy remembers seeing the first Conjuring in theaters back in 2013 and said, “I remember finding it absolutely spine-chilling. It’s surreal seeing the first film as a viewer and now sitting here… as an actor as part of the franchise.’
As the newcomer to the series, Tony serves an important narrative function. “My character is sort of like the eyes for the audience members that haven’t seen any Conjuring movies before,” said Hardy. “So I get to experience becoming part of the franchise, much like Tony becomes part of the family. So there is a bit of art imitating life in that aspect.”
With Tomlinson’s Judy and Hardy’s Tony now married and connected to the Warrens, many might assume they would become the new franchise leads. Even though The Conjuring: Last Rites has been billed as the final entry in the series, no good horror franchise stays dead for long. Producer James Wan won’t comment specifically on a torch passing, instead focusing on The Conjuring: Last Rites as the final entry in the franchise. However, he did say, “Never say never,” and “the structure is inherent there… if there is a Phase Two, that doesn’t feel out of place; in fact, it feels very organic.” See The Conjuring: Last Rites in theaters now.
The Conjuring: Last Rites
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/5
- Release Date
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September 5, 2025
- Runtime
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135 Minutes
- Director
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Michael Chaves
- Writers
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David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, Ian B. Goldberg, Richard Naing, Carey Hayes, Chad Hayes, James Wan
- Producers
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Peter Safran, James Wan
