WithConjuring 4soon to grace theaters with more enrapturing, pulse-quickening frights, fans are undoubtedly curious what direction the series will continue in, or if it indeed will. According toa reportfrom SlashFilm, horror mogul and director James Wan has hinted at possibly bringing the belovedConjuringseries to a close soon, if he feels the time is right.
The inaugural film of the franchiseThe Conjuringopened in theaters back in 2013 and first introduced audiences everywhere to the compelling true story of renowned paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. The married couple took part in thousands of cases over the course of decades, including high-profile ones like the Amityville haunting. The first film details the haunting of the Perron family house in Rhode Island, and the reception by audiences and critics everywhere was abundantly positive. James Wan took the initiative and continued to expand what would become known asThe Conjuring Universe, which encapsulates not only theConjuringfilms but the three spinoffAnnabellefilms as well, which center around the infamously haunted doll first introduced in the Warren household. Up to now, with the fourthConjuringfilm expected sometime in 2024, James Wan has reflected on the status of the franchise, and where he thinks it could possibly end up.
“Yeah, we are working on it right now. With the ‘Conjuring’ films, we are very precious about [them]. And so we kind of want to just take our time to make sure we get it right and to make sure the emotion of the Warren stories that we want to tell, and moving into, and potentially wrapping up, we just want to make sure that it’s the right thing, the right story that we’re telling.”
While there are certainly countless more haunted stories in the Warren catalogue that could be brought to the big screen, if James Wan deems it best to bring closure to the series, he could not doubt focus on bringing yet another fresh idea to the modern horror genre.
Related:The Conjuring 4: Where Will Ed and Lorraine Warren Go Next?
How James Wan Reinvigorated the Nearly-Zombified Horror Film Genre
Horror is arguably one of the most difficult genres in film to execute properly, and as such there was a noticeable drought in true, innovative horror for many years. However, James Wan came onto the scene in the early 2000s and legitimately turned the genre on its head with his breakout horror filmSaw(2004). Filled with gore and a unique, nonlinear narrative storyline, the film launched a benchmark franchise that would span the next several years and draw devout crowds at every premiere. Another notable horror series that popped up around the same time was theParanormal Activityfranchise, which released its first film in 2009 and directed by Oren Peli. Evidently attempting to follow a relatively similar ‘viral’ formula asSaw, the series started strong but didn’t have quite the staying power compared to Wan’s projects.
Wan later debutedInsidious(2010), which also would turn into yet another popular series. However, he would reach the peak of his career as a horror craftsman withThe Conjuring(2013) and its respective universe, which became the highest grossing horror franchise at over $2 billion. Such a track record over the course of just two decades has firmly established James Wan as a fixture of horror filmmaking, with a loyal fanbase that will undoubtedly continue to anticipate any of his next projects.
