Warning: Contains spoilers for The Nun.
Everyone’s favourite demonic nun came back with a vengeance in The Nun, the spin-off movie from The Conjuring 2.
The movie outlined the origins of Valak, the demon who just happens to have it in for demonologists Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga), and offered a surprise link into the wider Conjuring universe.
Despite mixed reviews, The Nun has been delivering the goods at the box office and there’s every chance it could end up as the highest-grossing movie of the entire Conjuring franchise to date, so a sequel certainly seems like a sure thing, even if Warner Bros and New Line haven’t officially confirmed one yet.
If The Nun does scare up a sequel though, what can we expect?
The Nun 2 release date: When can we expect it?
Unfortunately for fans of Valak, we might have to wait until 2021 to see any potential sequel to The Nun.
Annabelle 3 is set for release in July 2019 and it seems like The Conjuring 3 will be out in 2020 after production starts on that in 2019, so that doesn’t leave much room for The Nun 2 in the upcoming schedule.
That’s not even taking into account the planned spin-off movie for the Crooked Man which producer Peter Safran has confirmed is still in the works.
However, there is a chance though that Warner Bros will want The Nun 2 to come out before The Conjuring 3, potentially with an early 2020 release date for the sequel ahead of The Conjuring 3 landing later that year.
“I do know where potentially, if The Nun works out, where The Nun 2 could lead to and how that ties back to Lorraine’s story that we’ve set up with the first two Conjurings and make it all come all full circle,” teased James Wan, who oversees the franchise.
So could The Nun 2 act as a sort of warm-up movie for the franchise’s climax with The Conjuring 3, a bit like Captain Marvel will be for Avengers 4?
The Nun 2 spoilers: How does the first movie set it up?
The movie takes us back to 1952 as Catholic priest Father Burke (Demián Bichir) and nun in training Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga) investigate the suicide of a nun at a convent in Romania, along with the help of a farmer called Frenchie (Jonas Bloquet).
© Warner Bros.
They discover that it wasn’t a suicide, but rather the nun sacrificing herself to prevent Valak from taking a vessel and getting loose. However, after a final battle where it seems Valak has been defeated, we get a flashback scene of Frenchie getting possessed by Valak.
His real name is Maurice Theriault, the person we saw being exorcised in The Conjuring and the movie ends by showing that very footage from the first movie.
© Warner Bros.
So there’s around two decades where Frenchie is out in the world between the end of The Nun and when we first meet the Warrens in The Conjuring, so a sequel to The Nun could take place during this period where Valak – or one of Valak’s demonic minions – is out wreaking havoc in the world.
However, there’s also the chance that a sequel to The Nun could pick up after The Conjuring 2 where Lorraine Warren seemingly condemned Valak back to Hell by addressing the demon by its name.
But you can’t keep a good demon down, so it’s not a stretch to say the Warrens aren’t done with Valak just yet.
The Nun 2 cast: Who’s coming back?
Rare for a horror, all of the main characters survived Valak in The Nun, so Taissa Farmiga, Demián Bichir and Jonas Bloquet could all return as Sister Irene, Father Burke and Frenchie, respectively, for a sequel.
And of course, it wouldn’t be Valak without Bonnie Aarons behind the demonic make-up.
We also can’t rule out cameo roles – or bigger roles – for Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as Ed and Lorraine Warren in the sequel. Given that some fans still believe Sister Irene is the younger version of Lorraine, it could be that they’ll want to keep the Warrens away from The Nun.
Behind the camera, Corin Hardy could return to direct as he certainly seemed up for it. “I’m always open to making movies about unholy evil, but we’ll see. It’s up to the crowds,” he told Digital Spy.
The Nun is out in cinemas now. Book tickets here.
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