New ‘Conjuring’ Prequel Is Just Announced, and Fans Are Already Divided
The story of Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson’s characters is getting a huge expansion after The Conjuring: Last Rites’ stunning box office performance back in September.
The Conjuring movie franchise might have ended things for paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren’s future, but definitely not for the past.
Released in theatres worldwide in September, The Conjuring: Last Rites came as the ninth movie in the iconic horror franchise, once again bringing back Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson’s Lorraine and Ed as they’re investigating yet another paranormal activity.
Despite receiving mixed reviews, Last Rites became a massive hit days after arriving in theatres, so both the movie’s creators and viewers knew this wasn’t yet the end of the story.
However, it seems like not every The Conjuring fan is happy with the latest news.
‘Conjuring’ Prequel Movie Is in the Works After ‘Last Rites’ Box Office Success
Having grossed around $487 million worldwide, the latest franchise addition has become its most profitable as well, bringing the entire film series way closer to the billionaire status.
According to Variety, nearly two months after The Conjuring: Last Rites premiered in theatres a prequel movie is officially in the works at Warner Bros. and New Line, now focusing on earlier years that the ghost-hunting couple spent exploring the supernatural world.
So far, there’s no report about whether Farmiga and Wilson will reprise their roles, though it’s very unlikely anyway — the future movie will centre on the much younger characters, which might mean an entirely new cast will be joining the franchise.
Apart from that, HBO is also interested in contributing to the horror franchise, developing a new TV series that will continue the story of The Conjuring’s movies.
‘The Conjuring’ Fans See No Sense in Upcoming Prequel Movie
Even though there was no sign of the audiences’ lack of interest in theatres whatsoever, many fans might have changed their mind about how things are going for the franchise after seeing Last Rites.
On a Reddit thread, many complained about the movies getting worse and other instalments not making any sense without Farmiga and Wilson in there.
“Vera and Patrick have always carried this entire franchise on their backs. I don’t see it working without them”, Redditor AMonitorDarkly wrote.
“Instead of prequels why didn’t they just continue these films with already established well loved characters ? A huge appeal of these movies is the lead actors”, a-hthy chimed in.
“Continuing with prequels means we all know the Warrens will survive unscathed and that’ll take almost all the levity out of the story”, AtomicShane suggested.
