During a recent trip to the set of the original horror drama The Conjuring, producers made it clear that James Wan's film – based on the real-life exploits of Ed and Lorraine Warren – could be the start of a lucrative horror franchise, so long as fans showed up to support Wan's initial vision.
Now that The Conjuring set a record for opening-weekend figures for an original R-rated horror (earning an estimated $41.5M in tickets sold), the path is clear for multiple movies in this budding series, and Warner already has announced that The Conjuring 2 is in the pipeline.
EW broke the story, saying that original writers Carey and Chad Hayes are "on board to pen the sequel," and that cast members Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson are under contract to reprise their roles as the Warrens.
"You need a sequel every now and again for the bank account," Farmiga joked when she spoke with EW. "But for me, personally, it's because I really enjoyed doing it. I love the camaraderie that Patrick and I have and I genuinely love the character. She's an eccentric. I'd love to step in Lorraine's shoes again. And again!"
Wan, when asked about the sequel, suggested that the Annabelle doll – which played a significant part in the first movie – could come back for part two.
"There's so many cases that one could pull out of [the Warrens'] files," said the director. "I myself think the Annabelle story could be a great stand-alone movie. That whole story is really interesting and really really scary."
Or they could go with the one that's hinted at in the final lines of dialogue in the film currently in theaters. Lorraine tells Ed that they need to look into a haunting on Long Island, an obvious reference to the Amityville Horror, which the Warrens investigated in the late 1970s. But the Warrens also were involved with bizarre cases that touched on werewolves and demonic forces. As Wan suggests, there are endless stories that could be told using the Warrens' actual case files as the foundation of a solid screenplay.
Wan, meanwhile, is no stranger to sequels. He has Insidious: Chapter 2 arriving in theaters on September 13. And he recently signed on to direct Fast & Furious 7, which may delay the start of The Conjuring 2. Will it be worth the wait? If it's anything like this trailer, the answer isn't in doubt!
