After launching a successful spin-off series fromThe ConjuringwithAnnabellethat seesAnnabelle 2arriving in theaters this August, New Line announced aConjuring 2 spin-offlast summer entitledThe Nun. Today the studio has found its director for this horror spin-off, enlistingThe Crowremake directorCorin Hardyto take the helm. No story details have been given at this time, but this spin-off may offer an origin story for this terrifying nun character, who was actually a last-minute addition into the sequel.
The demon nun scene was a big hit when the movie was released last summer, but it was not part of the original script, and it was added into the film just months before the movie opened, during reshoots.James Wanhad a cut of the movie where the villain was simply a demon with large horns, who Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga) encounter. The studio was ready to release this version, but then the director had a last-minute vision that this character was actually a demonic nun, dubbed Valak. He convinced the studio to undergo reshoots in March, three months before the movie opened on June 10.
While some of the changes that needed to be made were minor, with the art piece Ed Warren is painting being changed from a demon to a nun, others were much more extensive. One scene that was added involvedLorraine Warrenwatching the nun’s shadow crawl across a wall to line up with the painting.Bonnie Aaronsportrayed the nun inThe Conjuring 2, but we’ll have to wait and see if she comes back. The Nun was also featured in anepic prankvideo that surfaced just before the sequel’s release in Brazil.
Our initial report revealed thatDavid Leslie Johnson, who wroteThe Conjuring 2, was writing the script, withJames WanandPeter Safrancoming back to produce. That doesn’t seem to be the case anymore, withDeadlinereporting thatJames Wanis co-writing the script withGary Dauberman, who wrote bothAnnabelleandAnnabelle 2. This project will beCorin Hardy’s next film, puttingThe Crowreboot on the back-burner once again.Jason Momoais attached to star, but the project needs to find a new studio home after finally breaking away from Relativity Media.
The Conjuringhit theaters in the summer of 2013, opening with an impressive $41.8 million, en route to $137.4 million domestic and $318 million worldwide, from a $20 million budget. The 2014 spinoff,Annabellewas also a hit with audiences, earning $84.2 million domestic and $256.8 million worldwide, from just a $6.5 million budget.The Conjuring 2earned $102.4 million domestically and $217.8 million internationally for a worldwide total of $320.2 million, from just a $40 million budget. Hopefully we’ll hear more about casting forThe Nunsoon, including word on whether or notBonnie Aaronswill return to reprise her role.
