The Conjuring: Last Ritesis just a few months away and will reportedly be the final entry in Ed and Lorraine Warren’s story in this horror universe. Afterfour main seriesConjuringmoviesand countless related spinoffs, it finally seems like Warner Bros.' successful franchise may have reached the perfect stepping-off point.
However, the possibility ofLast Ritesactually being the final movie in this franchise is seemingly quite low. There are several ways Warner Bros. could keep this series going withoutEd and Lorraine Warren, focusing on spinoff properties likeAnnabelleandThe Nuninstead. However, this seems like a very underwhelming routefor the franchise to take.
6The Conjuring Franchise Can Still End On A High
There are several factors to consider when ending a franchise, but one of the most important iswhat kind of legacy the final movie will leave behind. It’s important to end the series on a high note to ensure thatLast Ritesdoesn’t stain the positive reputation thatThe Conjuringmovies already have.
Pushing forward with too many unnecessary sequels would merely increase the risk of tapping the well of ideas dry, soit’s much safer to useLast Ritesas a powerful, reliable endingthat ties everything together without leaving any open ends. This feels like a very natural end toThe Conjuringtimeline, allowing the franchise to end without ever releasing a truly bad installment.
There are certainly flaws withThe Conjuring 3that have led certain audiences to believe that the franchise is dipping in quality, butLast Ritesis the ideal opportunity to prove these skeptics wrong and solidify the universe as one of the horror genre’s most iconic and consistent franchises. This wouldn’t be sustainable forever, so it’s best to end the series while it makes sense.
5Last Rites Details The Final Case In The Warrens’ Career
There’s No More True Material To Use As Inspiration
There’s a reasonThe Conjuring 4has been subtitledLast Rites. The film is clearly being marketed as the final movie in the series, and to subvert these expectations with more unnecessary sequels would merely betray the trust of the existing audience. Thetrue story ofLast Ritescenters around the Smurl haunting, which is widely understood to be the Warrens’ final case as supernatural investigators.
IfThe Conjuringfranchise somehow continued past the plot ofLast Rites,the stories would lose the air of historical realism that’s made them so engagingup to now. The reason so many audiences have allowed themselves to get lost in Ed and Lorraine Warren’s cases is because, on some level, they’re inspired by real events. FurtherConjuringsequels wouldn’t have this benefit.
There’s always been criticism ofThe Conjuringmovies not quite being as “real” as their true story approach seems to portray, and these problems would only get more noticeable if the writers were forced to move past the Warrens’ actual historical cases. Their final case is a very natural place for this story to end, andLast Ritesseemingly understands that.
4The Conjuring Spinoffs Have Never Been As Good As The Main Series
The Nun & Annabelle Were Underwhelming Projects
Since Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga have essentially confirmed they won’t be coming back toThe Conjuringuniverse followingLast Rites, the only way the franchise would be able to continue is through spinoff properties likeThe NunorAnnabelle.These have never been as well-received as the mainConjuringmovies, so it feels unstable to hang the franchise’s hopes on them.
There have beendiscussions of a potential“Phase Two” ofThe Conjuringuniverse, but it’s not exactly clear what this would look like. The concept would likely rely on these spinoff properties to build upon the existing franchise without the Warrens at the center, but it seems unlikely the studio would use such poorly received stories as the basis for their whole franchise.
Movies likeAnnabelleandThe NunhaveRotten Tomatoesscores of 28% and 24% respectively, which don’t even come close to the ratings of 86% and 80% that were given to the first twoConjuringmovies. They might perform well at the box office, butthe spinoffs clearly aren’t strong enoughto carry this franchise into the future.
3The Franchise Wouldn’t Feel The Same Without Ed & Lorraine Warren
Patrick Wilson & Vera Farmiga Are Key Components Of This Series
Ultimately, the main problem with continuingThe Conjuringuniverse after the release ofLast Ritesis that it would be missing the two main ingredients that make it such a beloved horror franchise: Wilson and Farmiga. Their lead performances and complex on-screen dynamics are what make these movies so engaging, andthe franchise would struggle to easily replace them.
The only sensible option would be jumpingbackwardsin time and exploring the earlier days of the Warrens’ career with younger actors.
While it’s obviously possible to makeaConjuringmovie without Wilson and Farmiga, that would be a huge risk that doesn’t seem justifiable given how poorly the spinoffs have been received in the past. The only sensible option would be jumping backwards in time and exploring the earlier days of the Warrens’ career with younger actors.
There are reportedly some flashback scenes inLast Ritesthat may be hinting towards an Ed and Lorraine prequel movie in the future, but this would still be a huge risk.Wilson and Farmiga have been the heart of this series for so long, it’s hard to imagine whatThe Conjuringfranchise would even look like without them at its core.
2The Conjuring’s Box Office Performance Has Been Getting Worse
The Movies Are No Longer Commercially Reliable
Another major factor that needs to be considered when analyzing the future of this horror universe is the ongoing box office performance. BothThe ConjuringandThe Conjuring 2had fairly similar worldwide grosses of $319 million and $322 million, respectively (viaBox Office Mojo), but this took a pretty major dip whenThe Conjuring 3pulled in just $206 million.
This was the first sign that audiences were beginning to slowly lose interest inThe Conjuring.However,Last Rites’ release will determine whether it returns to the franchise average or takes another substantial hit. Most of the series’ spinoffs have performed similarly, with recent projects likeThe Nun 2managing a $269 million worldwide gross.
1Warner Bros. Has Better Horror Franchises To Focus On
The Studio Has A Very Exciting Future
Ultimately, the main problem with continuingThe Conjuringfranchise past the fourth movie is that Warner Bros. has such an interesting slate of upcoming releases that deserve time and financing. Whilethis series has clearly peaked and reached a suitable endpoint, upcoming movies likeThe MummyandThe Briderepresent a new direction for the popular studio within the horror genre.
It was recently announced that James Wan, who serves as a producer onThe Conjuringmovies, will be returning to theSawfranchise following a major negotiation with Blumhouse Productions. ThisrecentSawdeal with Blumhouseis a much better use of Wan’s time than financing anotherConjuringmovie, especially since that franchise clearly needs a major reboot to get back on track.
Warner Bros. is also involved with the production of James Gunn’s new DC Universe, with several exciting projects lined up for the next few years.The Conjuring: Last Ritesneeds to be the final movie in this long-running franchise to free up space and money for these fresh, original movies that can help the studio build for the future.
