(L to R) Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga in ‘The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It.’ Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures.
Preview:
Michael Chaves has closed a deal to direct the next ‘Conjuring’ Movie.
Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga are likely to return as Ed and Lorraine Warren.
The movie could signal the end of the main ‘Conjuring’ run.
The ‘Conjuring’ movies have long become one of the most successful horror franchises since James Wan made the 2013 original, which went on to earn nearly $320 million worldwide from a $20 million budget.
It has spawned not just sequels but also spin-offs, including the ‘Annabelle’ movies (about the diabolical doll who lurks in the Warren’s collection of haunted objects) and the ‘Nun’ films (which fill in the backstory of the demonic habit-wearer who briefly appears in ‘The Conjuring 2’. All told, the movies have so far made a combined $2.1 billion at the worldwide box office.
It’s somewhat surprising to learn, then, that the fourth –– which currently has no official title but was at one point called ‘Last Rites’ –– could bring the films to a close, at least those directly featuring paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga.
We do now know, though that Michael Chaves, who directed ‘The Curse of La Llorona’ (which isn’t technically part of the ‘Conjuring’ universe but has seen a character crossover into the ‘Annabelle’ movies and was produced by Wan), ‘The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It’ (the third in the main series), and, most recently, ‘The Nun II’ is officially aboard for the new movie.
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What’s the story of the new ‘Conjuring’ movie?
(L to R) Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson in ‘The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It.’ Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures.
Nothing has been released about the potential story for the new movie, though the end of ‘The Nun II’ saw Ed and Lorraine show up, pointing to a possible crossover between the main movies and the nun-centric spin-off.
Here’s what Chavez told Screen Rant about the connection back in September:
“In terms of the exorcism of Maurice, that’s always been a center, a cornerstone marker in the timeline and I think it’s up to interpretation. It’s also, I think there’s a lot of things that need to align, so it could go a couple different ways. As an audience member, I would 100% see a crossover of all Conjuring demons. I couldn’t give away what I know about what’s being developed, but I know that they’re going to end with a bang. I know that there is a great finale being planned for ‘Last Rites’ and as to what or who’s in it… I don’t want to give away any spoilers.”
Regular writer David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick returned for the new movie, and the cameras should be rolling this summer in Atlanta, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Who will be in the new ‘Conjuring’ movie?
(L to R) Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson in ‘The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It.’ Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures.
We can assume Wilson and Farmiga will return, and possibly either McKenna Grace or someone else playing their daughter Judy. The movies have usually tended to be stand-alone cases, so a new cast around the leads is likely.
Even if the movies do come to an end –– and more spin-offs are likely anyway –– there is still the ‘Conjuring’ TV series in development at Max. The creative team has stayed quiet as to what that might include, but if greenlit, the series will surely continue to bring fresh terror.
(L to R) Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson in ‘The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It.’ Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures.
Opening in theaters on September 8th, ‘The Nun II’ attempts to wring more scares out of the demonic habit-wearer first glimpsed in 2016’s ‘The Conjuring 2’.
Unfortunately, despite some expressive performances from the likes of Taissa Farmiga, Storm Reid and Jonas Bloquet, it falls back on some very tired tropes and giant plot contrivances.
‘The Nun II’, as you might expect, picks up the story of 2018’s ‘The Nun’.
1956 – France. A priest is murdered. An evil is spreading. The film follows Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga) as she once again comes face-to-face with Valak, the demon nun (Bonnie Aarons).
Given that Valak was not defeated at the end of ‘The Nun’, it’s in no way surprising that the demonic entity is back to cause more chaos, especially since we learned that Maurice (Jonas Bloquet) was possessed by the creature, and also returns here, this time working as a handyman at a girls’ boarding school in France.
At this point, almost anything from the main ‘Conjuring’ franchise (which, in case you forgot, sees Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson playing real-life paranormal investigators Lorraine and Ed Warren, who come up against some scary situations) that is even slightly popular with audiences ends up getting its own franchise.
So far, we’ve seen doll Annabelle spin-off for three movies, and demonic Nun Valak is now on her (its?) second. The first ‘Nun’ movie was directed by Corin Hardy, but for the second, we have ‘Conjuring’ franchise veteran Michael Chaves, who has so far shot spin-off ‘The Curse of La Llorona’ and third main ‘Conjuring’ entry ‘The Devil Made Me Do It’.
Here’s what we liked about ‘The Nun II’: the performances, by the returning likes of Taissa Farmiga (sister of Vera, though their onscreen roles are seemingly not connected beyond appearing in the same movie universe) and Bloquet are certainly committed, and Storm Reid, playing a fellow nun, is also a welcome presence in the film. Even if later on, they mostly just have to look wide-eyed in terror.
Chaves and cinematographer Tristan Nyby also bathe their movie in an effective wash of dark, European colors and the environs (shot in France) are convincingly creepy. The boarding school setting works for a horror movie, and also provides a batch of suitably scream-happy youngsters to respond to Valak’s terrifying tricks.
And talking of her actions, one or two of the scares are effective, one moment in particular involving a hook working to get the blood pumping. Unfortunately, there the praise ends.
Between Chaves and writer Akela Cooper (who has delivered genre fun via movies such as ‘Malignant’ and ‘M3GAN’), you might think that the stage was set for some original horror action. But that’s not really the case.
It seems churlish to castigate a horror movie for keeping to the tropes of its genre, but ‘The Nun II’ rolls out a laundry list of basic cliches that stop being entertaining after a while and will have you start to check your watch.
There are only so many times that Valak can pop up, either as itself or in some other form without warning and you wonder why people keep on screaming when all they have to do is wait a few minutes for the habitual horror to return.
Other scenes are even less effective, particularly one depiction of what is supposed to be the Devil, but which falls foul of what could be dubbed “satanic convenience” –– the creature is seemingly the prince of Hell, but at one point is stopped by a bunch of schoolgirls locking a big door.
Likewise, early in the movie, Valak slays a priest by setting him on fire (it’s this act that partly sends Sister Irene on her latest mission to track the demon down), but later on when it tries the same trick with someone more important, the convenient creature starts much slower, so that they can survive.
It’s just one frustrating element that derails the power of the film; for most of it, you feel like you’ve seen all of these moments a hundred times before and pulled off to more successful effect.
How many times, for example, have we seen a character roll or kick a ball into a dark corner in a seemingly empty, only to get a fright when it is kicked back by something or someone unknown? ‘The Nun II’s version, played out during an early scene, feels like nothing new on that front.
Likewise, the entire plot grinds to a halt when Irene seeks out Father Ridley (Hudson), a friend at the Papal archives (well, the ones in France) that has been researching Valak and other Hellspawn. While getting such information across to the audience is an unfortunate necessity, this scene has Ridley serve as Father Exposition, dishing out the details in such a way that it feels as though it’s being dumped on you.
Outside of the terror elements, even the schoolchildren feel like their story is straight from the Big Book of Movie Stories, with mean girls, young outsider heroines and the dedicated teacher all present.
‘The Nun II’ will certainly appeal to dedicated fans of this giant horror franchise, but feels unlikely to convert newcomers with a basic, often tired series of horrid happenings. We’re having none of it.
‘Barbie’ CinemaCon 2023 Presentation and Press Line, April 25th. Photos By Eric Charbonneau.
Having caused ripples with filmmakers and nervous feelings for already-threatened theater chains during the pandemic by putting a swathe of movies either directly on streaming service HBO Max or releasing them day-and-date online, Warner Bros. was somewhat naturally ready to go all-in on the big s screen as part of its presentation to cinemas bosses.
Warner Bros. Discovery boss David Zaslav opened with his commitment to theatrical, adding that the studio has 14 movies planned for cinemas in 2023, looking to ramp up to 20 in the coming years.
“I’m convinced, there is no other place to see a motion picture, to have impacts on all parts of the world…we believe in full windowing of the business, we don’t believe in streaming. We’re in no rush to bring movies to Max,” he said, referring to the to-be-retitled streaming service.
‘The Color Purple’
‘The Color Purple’ CinemaCon 2023 Presentation and Press Line, April 25th. Photos By Eric Charbonneau.
Zaslav has a longstanding business relationship with Oprah Winfrey (he oversaw development on her OWN network) and helped to introduce a project she’s deeply involved with –– the new musical version of Steven Spielberg’s ‘The Color Purple’.
Winfrey took the stage with the movie’s director Blitz Bazawule and told the room it was her first time at CinemaCon. “This is first circle moment for me to be a part of this film,” said Winfrey who starred in that original adaptation of the Alice Walker novel.
Winfrey said that the new musical version brings “magical realism, wholesome family goodness” to the screen. She happily introduced Bazawule,
“We knew you were the director to bring this version to the screen. How did you know you were the one?”
‘The Color Purple’ CinemaCon 2023 Presentation and Press Line, April 25th. Photos By Eric Charbonneau.
Bazawule: “I started this journey with the utmost respect for you, but also for Alice Walker, whose book gave us this amazing story…. At its core it’s about finding your voice, your family and breaking through obstacles which keep you down.”
“We’re going to get the groups in the seats,” said Winfrey, “It’s a celebration of sisterhood.”
They showed off the filled with lush Southern backgrounds, beaches, grand period costumes. We see Taraji P. Henson as Shug Avery saying, “I was married to a man I didn’t know”. There’s a shot of a 1920s band set on stage, and Henson adds “We got to show these folks we belong.” The movie stars Danielle Brooks, Colman Domingo, Corey Hawkins, Jon Batiste, Halle Bailey and more.
‘The Color Purple’ will be in theaters on December 25th.
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‘Barbie’
‘Barbie’ CinemaCon 2023 Presentation and Press Line, April 25th. Photos By Eric Charbonneau.
‘The Color Purple’ might indicate prestige, but pink was really the color for both the opening of the presentation –– launched by distribution chiefs Jeff Goldstein and Andrew Cripps who were decked out in hot pink suits with ties and sneakers to match –– and of ‘Barbie’, which has been making waves following its trailer and poster launch.
But the star of the presentation was Gosling –– clad in a pink jacket –– who revealed how the filmmakers helped him find the character of Ken.
Here’s what he said,
“I have to be honest, I had up until this point, I only knew Ken from afar. I didn’t know Ken from within,” the actor explained. “If I’m being really honest, I doubted my Ken-ergy. I didn’t see it. Margot and Greta, I feel like they conjured this out of me somewhere.”
The foursome debuted some unseen footage, which helped flesh out the story of the movie as seen in the recent trailer. Robbie’s title character is seemingly going about her technicolor life until strange things start happening, like cold showers and burnt waffles and then the ultimate ailment — flat feet. Her fellow Barbies suggest she go and see “weird Barbie,” played by Kate McKinnon who offers two options, to go back to her regular Barbie life or real-life as displayed by a stiletto or a Birkenstock.
Barbie then sets off on a journey to the real world and is surprised by Ken who joins her in the backseat of her convertible.
‘Barbie’ drives into theaters on July 21st.
‘Barbie’ CinemaCon 2023 Presentation and Press Line, April 25th. Photos By Eric Charbonneau.
From the looks of the trailer for the giant shark sequel, the filmmakers (including director Ben Wheatley) are doubling down on the monster action, bringing lots more creatures plus a new, bigger Megalodon shark.
Jason Statham returns as the heroic Jonas, seen in the footage leaping into the air on a jet ski to face off against a shark with a sword. Are we getting into ‘Sharknado’ territory? Possibly, but that’s part of the fun.
The trailer, which was for the room only, showed off plenty of mainstays of the Willy Wonka character, including chocolate that makes one float, and a surprise: Hugh Grant as an Oompa-Loompa, which got big laughs from the crowd. Chalamet called working with Grant as a “dream come true.” He added of the Oompa-Loompa character, “it was a trip.”
Directed by ‘Paddington’s Paul King, the musical movie will sing for its supper (and more likely dessert) in theaters from December 15th.
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‘Dune: Part Two’
‘Dune Part Two’ CinemaCon 2023 Presentation and Press Line, April 25th. Photos By Eric Charbonneau.
Chalamet was back, joined by co-star Zendaya and director Denis Villeneuve on stage to show off teaser footage for the second part of Villeneuve’s giant sci-fi adaptation.
This time, we’re promised more action as Chalamet’s Paul Atreides starts his battle to avenge his murdered family and free the planet Arrakis from the cruel Harkonnens. Zendaya is back –– and actually part of the story this time –– as Chani, a warrior from the native Fremen.
The footage showed some big moments, such as Paul riding one of the native Sandworm creatures, plus new cast members such as Florence Pugh and Austin Butler, who will be Princess Irulan and the calculating sword-slinger Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen. Who hopefully doesn’t sound like Elvis Presley.
‘Dune Part Two’ CinemaCon 2023 Presentation and Press Line, April 25th. Photos By Eric Charbonneau.
‘The Nun 2’
There was horror to be found with the sequel to ‘Conjuring’ spin-off ‘The Nun’, with a first look at the new movie, directed by Michael Chaves.
As expected, it’s scary stuff, with young girls playing a dare game that soon turns terrifying. Taissa Farmiga’s Sister Irene is back to help deal with the new demonic threat. Expect freakish goat creatures, rivers of blood and lots of screaming.
Farmiga and co-star Storm Reid took the stage to talk up the film with the former explaining that Sister Irene returns because “she has a strong sense of duty”. Filming at a real abandoned church in France frightened Farmiga so much that she needed an escort to walk her around the location.
‘The Nun’ will vow to frighten audiences on September 8th.
Though James Gunn is away touring the world for ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,’ he sent a video message. Fellow DC Studios CEO Peter Safran was in person to talk up the slate.
Here’s what he said,
“Each of these films not only delivers a stunning cinematic experience that uniquely highlights our iconic DC heroes, but they also blaze a trail forward into our DC universe that we are cracking with our next chapter.”
Neither James Wan nor star Jason Momoa were on hand, though they appeared via video to introduce a new trailer for the aquatic hero’s sequel.
Wan said ‘Aquaman 2’ visits “beautiful, strange new worlds” where it explores “interesting new characters.” “It’s an action-adventure story with a really fun bromance between Arthur (Momoa) and Orm (Patrick Wilson). Orm was a villain the first time around, but this time Arthur needs him.”
As for the trailer, it finds Momoa battling Yahya Abdul Mateen II’s Black Manta –– who this time has his own Trident, and is causing big trouble for our hero, requiring the Orm assist. Oh, and Aquaman has a child now.
The movie swims to theaters on December 20th.
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‘Blue Beetle’
‘Blue Beetle’ CinemaCon 2023 Presentation and Press Line, April 25th. Photos By Eric Charbonneau.
‘Blue Beetle’ director Angel Manuel Soto and star Xolo Maridueña brought an extended trailer for the movie about a young man who becomes an unwitting superhero (at least until he embraces the powers granted him by a weird scarab).
Unlike some other heroes, Maridueña’s Jamie Reyes has a family who knows about his superhero side. “Good luck hiding something from your Latino mother,” Soto said to laughs, while Maridueña described his character as the only superhero who doesn’t seem to want his powers.
‘Blue Beetle’, heads to theaters on August 18th.
‘Blue Beetle’ CinemaCon 2023 Presentation and Press Line, April 25th. Photos By Eric Charbonneau.
A new trailer for ‘The Flash’ was shown, adding in more to the story of Barry Allen’s troubles with the multiverse.
Directed by Andy Muschietti, the superhero film finds Barry (Ezra Miller) causing problems when he uses his powers to save his parents – and breaks the universe in the process. As the trailer shows, he’ll need the help of Michael Keaton’s Batman and Sasha Calle’s Supergirl to stop a multiverse variant of ‘Man of Steel’s General Zod (Michael Shannon), who has free rein in a world where heroes don’t appear to exist.
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The trailer promises a lot of action, some quips and Keaton being cool as Bats. The whole movie premiered for the CinemaCon crowd, but most audiences will have to wait until June 16th.
(L to R) Ben Affleck and Jason Momoa on the set of ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.’ Photo courtesy of Jason Momoa’s Instagram account.
Warner Bros. Discovery has, according to Deadline, decided to shift the release dates for a batch of its upcoming movies. And it mostly means that those expecting to see James Wan’s ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’ next March will be waiting a few months longer.
No, the much-anticipated ‘Aquaman’ sequel isn’t suddenly headed off into a vault as a tax write-off. Instead, the reasoning is that the backlog of visual effects work means that Wan and co. need more time to finish the FX-heavy superhero sequel.
The result? Instead of its original planned March 17th, 2023 release in theaters, the new movie will be a DC Christmas present for fans, releasing on December 25th next year.
Disney is already busy priming the pump for the sequel’s arrival by yanking the original from tis Disney+ servers and putting the movie back in theaters from September 22nd in a shiny new 4K remastered version.
Anticipation for the next ‘Avatar’ remains high despite naysayers trying to claim that it won’t have the same impact. Even if it gets close, ‘The Way of Water’ will be a giant movie, and no one should ever bet against James Cameron.
So ‘Shazam’s second outing (which sees Zachary Levi back leading the cast as the titular hero, who transforms upon saying his name from more regular teen Billy Batson, played by Asher Angel) will now reside in the much more comfortable March 17th slot vacated by its watery superhero sibling, and won’t have to worry about fighting for regular screens and IMAX slots with Cameron’s behemoth.
It also represents Warners considering a March slot to be a winner following this year’s ‘The Batman’.
‘The Conjuring’s ever-expanding franchise continues, meanwhile, with ‘The Nun 2’, directed by Michael Chaves, set for September 8th, 2023. Fellow horror ‘Salem’s Lot’ had been penciled in for April but is now awaiting a new date.
Those weren’t the only announcements. A ‘House Party’ reboot is headed our way this December 9th, while Lee Cronin’s ‘Evil Dead Rise’ is scheduled for an April 21st slot. Both of those movies had originally been targeted for HBO Max, which will add fuel to the fire of those rightfully upset that ‘Batgirl’ is being denied a similar chance.
Finally, Warners also confirmed an untitled event film (whether that’s DC or something else) for February 10th next year, to take advantage of Super Bowl Weekend.
Jason Momoa in 2018’s ‘Aquaman.’
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