‘The Conjuring 3’ Is Still In Development, Could Begin Filming In 2019
Corin Hardy’s horror filmThe Nunjust earnedthe biggest opening weekend haulof any movie set inThe Conjuringcinematic universe and pushed that franchise into the history books as the biggest R-rated horror franchise of all time, with over $1.1 billion worldwide. That tops long-running franchises likeHalloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13thand more.
With numbers like those, it’s no surprise thatThe Conjuring 3is still in development, and one of the producers has given a brief update about the further adventures of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren.
In an interview withCinemaBlend, producerPeter Safran(who has produced all ofThe Conjuringuniverse movies thus far) revealed thatThe Conjuring 3is indeed still in the works and gave an estimated timetable for when it may head into production:
“It’s actually coming along great.David[Leslie]Johnsonis working on the screenplay, and I feel pretty confident they will have that one up and running next year.”
We knew last year that Johnson (who now goes byDavid Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick)was hiredto writeThe Conjuring 3screenplay, but at that point, it seemed as if directorJames Wanwould be too busy with his duties onAquamanto return to the director’s chair to finish out this trilogy. But with the news thatThe Conjuring 3is eyeing a 2019 start, it sounds like there’s a chance Wan might be able to fit this into his schedule.
Wan has launched three major horror franchises now withSaw,Insidious, andThe Conjuring, but he’s always stepped away at some point. He handed off the directorial reins of theSawmovies after directing only the first film, but directed the first twoInsidiousmovies. Could he continue that pattern and return to helm all threeConjuringmovies? Maybe!
What Could The Conjuring 3 Be About?
While we still don’t know for sure which of the Warrens' cases the third film will explore, Wan has previously said that while the first twoConjuringmovies were set in the 1970s,he wants the third movie to be set in the ’80s. Looking at the Warrens’history, a few contenders spring to mind.
Then again, Safran seemed to imply in a previous interview that they would be switching up the formula for the third movie:
“Clearly we can’t do another haunted house movie, right? We can’t do another supernatural possession in a house, with a family in peril. Right? So, it’s got to be something different than that, I think.”
So perhaps they’ll tackle one of the Warrens' lesser-known cases instead. Either way, I sincerely hope Wan returns to horror soon, because he’s consistently proven to be one of the best filmmakers in the genre. We’ll keep you posted with more onThe Conjuring 3as soon as we hear it.
