James Wan teases what’s next for The Conjuring universe

After more than a decade of horror stories, one of the most popular horror franchises is finally coming to an end with The Conjuring: Last Rites and it's a moment that feels both climactic and satisfying.

Over the last twelve years, The Conjuring Universe has brought fans some of the scariest films in the genre, spanning across different prequels and adaptations of the real life ghost hunters.

However, after three titular films, The Conjuring Universe is now reaching an end for Ed and Lorraine Warren, the protagonists of the franchise, and with The Conjuring: Last Rites, the franchise is looking to give its fans the perfect finale.

Speaking to Collider, producer James Wan opened up on the future of the franchise after The Conjuring: Last Rites as he said,

“I just think collectively we’ve been doing this for a while. It’s been nearly 13 years that we’ve been playing in this world. We don’t want to be making the 30th movie down the line and have driven the franchise into the ground. We love the idea of actually just going out on a high, whilst we’re still on top. And there’s something kind of nice about it, to kind of not soil the legacy, if you will."

But he didn't exactly rule out a continuation either. Wan added that there could be a second phase in the franchise and for now, they are just focusing on The Conjuring: Last Rites.

“There are many ways to sort of approach this, but I guess I try not to give it too much thought at this point. I just want to be respectful to where we are right now and focus on saying goodbye to this one”

He also mentioned an anticipated spin-off in the franchise: The Crooked Man as he continued,

“It’s amazing. It’s like every now and then, I still get fans reaching out to me and saying, ‘When are we going to get the Crooked Man movie?’ It’s pretty incredible.”

More details about The Conjuring: Last Rites

The Conjuring: Last Rites seems to be giving fans the perfect culmination of everyone's favorite ghost hunters, bringing Ed and Lorraine back to the screen one more time for a film that will explore one of their biggest, scariest cases. Directed by Michael Chaves, the film will explore the Smurl Huntings, one of the couple's most notorious cases that have been a subject of much public discussion.

Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson are reuniting as the main characters, and are joined by Mia Tomlinson as Judy Warren, now more central to the story, with Ben Hardy playing her boyfriend, Tony Spera. The cast also features Rebecca Calder, Elliot Cowan, Kíla Lord Cassidy, Beau Gadsdon, Molly Cartwright, John Brotherton, and Shannon Kook reprising his role as Drew.

Filming unfolded across London in fall 2024, wrapping in November after a tightly scheduled shoot. One major shift is behind the scenes: Benjamin Wallfisch takes over scoring duties from franchise staple Joseph Bishara, promising a new sonic texture to the series’ trademark terror.