4 Ways The Conjuring Universe Can Continue After Last Rites

"The Conjuring" has become one of Hollywood's most prolific horror franchises. The first film follows Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga) investigating a supernatural case, and its follow-ups have pretty much followed the same template. But in addition to "The Conjuring" sequels, there have been several spin-offs that explore some of the more popular demons in this series. The entire "Conjuring" universe story can get a little unwieldy, but given the films' success, it's clear that fans haven't minded going along for the ride.

That makes "The Conjuring: Last Rites" somewhat bittersweet, as it's seemingly the final "Conjuring" movie to star Wilson and Farmiga, a pair of actors who have been a cornerstone of the franchise since 2013. Looper's review of "The Conjuring: Last Rites" is largely positive, so it's clear the filmmakers sent these characters off well. But franchises, especially those that are horror-based, often find ways to keep things going even when a main character is retired.

"The Conjuring: Last Rites" doesn't have to be the end of this cinematic universe; in fact, there's already some talk of what the future might hold for the series. Here are some options for keeping "The Conjuring" alive if Valak and other spirits refuse to stay dead.

"The Conjuring" universe has already proven it doesn't need the Warrens as a focal point to be a hit. The various spinoffs have centered on some of the franchise's more notable demons, like Annabelle, who has three movies already. Not too bad for something that's actually just a Raggedy Ann doll in real life. There has apparently already been some discussion about a fourth "Annabelle" movie. Gary Dauberman, who directed "Annabelle Comes Home," told CBR, "Listen, there's a lot of different stories [for a potential fourth film]. It's just New Line's [decision]. They get to decide that."

There's also Valak, the demonic nun who's headlined two movies of her own. In fact, of all "The Conjuring" projects, the first "Nun" film remains the highest-grossing film. It would make sense for New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. to round her story out as a trilogy. 

And if the powers that be want to inject some fresh blood into the franchise, there's plenty of room for a spin-off featuring a completely different demon. Dauberman has also spoken about the possibility of a project based on the Bride or the Samurai, which are some of the outfits featured among the Warrens' museum of haunted artifacts. From origin stories to future tales of the macabre, there's just no shortage of possibilities when evil entities are afoot.

"The Conjuring: Last Rites" begins in 1964 before leaping forward in time to 1986. During that opening sequence, we meet a younger Ed (Orion Smith) and Lorraine Warren (Madison Lawlor), who are just dipping their toes into the world of supernatural investigation. Another possibility for the franchise, if it isn't entirely ready to let the couple go, is to focus on prequels, and both Smith and Lawlor sound game for returning to the franchise.

Smith himself has mentioned that another "Conjuring" movie could focus on the infamous Amityville murder case. That investigation is actually the opening scene of "The Conjuring 2" before the film shifts gears into something else, but there could be a full-fledged Amityville movie set within this universe despite there already being a separate "Amityville" franchise outside of "The Conjuring" movies.

Either way, Smith would be happy to come back. "If there are any spinoffs, I'm not going to say no," Smith told  Screen Rant. He did stop short of actively pitching him and Lawlor as Wilson and Farmiga's heirs apparent, adding, "[B]ut this is already enough. This is already so incredible, and I'm just grateful to be a part of it." Similarly, Lawlor wouldn't mind exploring more of Lorraine's clairvoyant powers, saying, "I think I'd love to explore when Lorraine first starts getting in touch with these feelings and what that journey's like for her." "Last Rites" appears to be designed to leave the Warrens behind, but depending on how future spin-offs fare financially, maybe Warner Bros. will want to return to the couple's story sooner rather than later.

One of the most intriguing developments in "The Conjuring: Last Rites" is the emphasis on Ed and Lorraine's daughter, Judy Warren (Mia Tomlinson). In the film, she gets wrapped up in the investigation into the haunting at the Smurl family home. In real life, Warren didn't really want much to do with her parents' legacy. When they passed away, she didn't even want any control over their occult museum. That responsibility fell instead to her husband, Tony Spera (played by Ben Hardy in the movie), who became a paranormal investigator in his own right.

Of course, "The Conjuring" movies have already fiddled with the truth plenty, so there's no reason why the franchise's fictional Judy couldn't pick up her parents' mantle. In fact, in the same Screen Rant interview as above, Tomlinson sounded more than happy to return to playing Judy, saying, "I'd love to come back to work with Ben [Hardy] and see more creepy stuff."

In August, James Wan, who directed the first two "Conjuring" movies and is now a producer for "Last Rites," contemplated the idea of Judy-centric movies with Bloody Disgusting. He played coy, but it doesn't seem outside the realm of possibility. "The setup and the structure are inherently there," he said. "But I'm just really focusing on kind of putting this last one out there and saying that this is the last one." With "Last Rites" now in theaters, it may not be long until we get a clearer sense of where the "Conjuring" universe is heading.

Sequels, prequels, spinoffs, reboots — Warner Bros. can honestly do anything it wants with "The Conjuring" franchise after "Last Rites," but there's one project that somehow managed to avoid being made, despite plans to do so.

Back in 2017, producer Peter Safran mentioned that a spinoff centered on the Crooked Man (Javier Botet) from "The Conjuring 2" was in the works. This is yet another incarnation of Valak, one that appears in the film as a pale demon with a pink hat, but it can take many other forms as well. While "The Crooked Man" was supposed to be the "Conjuring" movie to follow up "The Conjuring 2," it was placed on the back burner due to the popularity of the Nun, whose film came out first. Since then, the project's pretty much been dead in the water.

But in May, James Wan reiterated to Entertainment Weekly that he's still very interested in giving the Crooked Man his own movie. "I get fans that reach out to me every now and then, begging us to make a Crooked Man movie," he said, indicating that the audience demand appears to still be there. "Just as a fan, I would love to do it one day, if I can convince the studio to do so." Now that there's not really a clear path forward with the Warrens, perhaps Warner Bros. will be willing to experiment a little and finally give the Crooked Man his due. "The Conjuring: Last Rites" is eyeing an $80 million global opening weekend, meaning there's still plenty of money to squeeze out of this series, and if it's a hit, we could be inundated with new "Conjuring" projects before you know it.