The supposed last entry of The Conjuring series, subtitled “Last Rites,” got its first trailer just a few a days ago. Fittingly, it’ll tell the story of Ed and Lorraine Warren’s last case, the one they couldn’t solve: the Smurl family haunting of West Pittston, Pennsylvania. While the trailer has been a hit with horror fans, one thing has dominated talk of the movie, and that is that it’s the final entry of phase 1. The question is, phase 1 of what? The Conjuring universe? What was this series building up to that it needed to be thought of as a multiple-phase endeavor?
One of the best things about The Conjuring is that it followed the classic structure of horror franchises set by the legendary series that came before it. Think of Hellraiser, Halloween, Alien, Nightmare on Elm Street, and Friday the 13th. Most, if not all, of the movies that are part of each of these franchises are standalone entries that have enough callbacks and subtle narrative connections to reward those who’ve seen every sequel and spinoff that’s come out of them.
They’re mostly dependent on the very first movie of the series because they’re the ones that serve as the foundational mythology for whatever came next (though this comes after the fact because they weren’t originally conceptualized as such). And even then, you can enjoy Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors without watching the first one. It just won’t be as rich an experience, perhaps. The same applies for The Conjuring.
Each movie builds on the spiritually combative and loving nature of the Warren’s relationship, and the audience gets to see that grow and get renewed in each sequel. But their battle with Bathsheba in the first movie lives independently from their clash with Valak (the demon nun) from Conjuring 2. Tie-in movies such as Annabelle and The Nun are just that, offshoots of the main series that aren’t required viewing to follow the events of the main Conjuring line.
This talk of phases and universes simply points to the mark Marvel has left on the industry. Slap a ‘phase’ into a series of movies and people will start expecting a larger interconnected vision of storytelling that runs forever. The thing with how Marvel does phases is that each new one adds characters and villains that justify an extension of the universe. After Avengers: Endgame, the studio has been inching towards a new Avengers group after the originals closed out their part of the story. No recasts or full reboots planned, thus far. It all marches forward to new territory.
Does Conjuring have something similar in mind? I doubt they’ll consider recasting Lorraine and Ed Warren. Perhaps a trip back to their young adult years? Maybe “Last Rites” plans to bring back Bathsheba or Valak (or both) for a final Endgame-like battle. It’s hard to imagine what phase 2 would like because the three Conjuring movies we have already aren’t built with a sense of continuity that even remotely suggests it was going to be arranged in tiers. If two new exorcists (which the Warrens considered themselves to be) are introduced, and they’re fully fictional, does the franchise still retain the power it accrued by being promoted as “based on true events?”
There’s nothing wrong with phases in horror. If a project is conceptualized from the start as a long duration undertaking that will follow in the footsteps of the MCU, then all the power to it. Universal Studios tried to do it with its classic monsters, under the name Dark Universe, which is why we got 2017’s The Mummy movie with Tom Cruise. Unfortunately, poor box office numbers shelved that idea. The Conjuring series has been largely successful, and it has a fandom that’s eager to dive into the “real” stories behind each movie while also showing up to conventions cosplaying as some of its more recognizable characters (The Nun in particular). If phase 2 works out and comes out of the gate with a surprise critical hit that’s also reflected in box office numbers, then that’s alright. But there’s a risk in using a franchise model that comes attached to a set of expectations that it’s been intentionally developing since its inception. Time will tell if The Conjuring will end up selling its soul for something that wasn’t meant for it.
The Conjuring: Last Rites opens in cinemas on September 5th, 2025.
