Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga are taking on one final stand as exorcists Ed and Lorraine Warren. The duo return for “The Conjuring: The Last Rites,” which will close out the iconic “The Conjuring” franchise more than a decade after it debuted.
The paranormal investigating couple first appeared onscreen in 2013; now 12 years, a slew of spinoff films, and $2 billion in theatrical grossings later, “The Conjuring: The Last Rites” concludes Farmiga and Wilson’s turns as the Warrens. Franchise veteran Michael Chaves directs the film, with “franchise architects” James Wan and Peter Safran producing.
The logline reads: “‘The Conjuring: Last Rites’ delivers another thrilling chapter of the iconic Conjuring cinematic universe, based on real events. Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson reunite for one last case as renowned, real-life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren in a powerful and spine-chilling addition to the global box office-breaking franchise.”
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“The Last Rites” is set in 1986 when the Warrens were retired. However, the couple returns for one last case involving the Smurl family in Pennsylvannia. Mia Tomlinson and Ben Hardy are portraying Ed and Lorraine’s daughter Judy Warren and her boyfriend, Tony Spera. Steve Coulter is returning as Father Gordon, with Rebecca Calder, Elliot Cowan, Kíla Lord Cassidy, Beau Gadsdon, John Brotherton, and Shannon Kook co-starring. Chaves directs from a screenplay by Ian Goldberg, Richard Naing, and David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, with a story by David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, James Wan. The film is based on characters created by Chad Hayes and Carey W. Hayes, and inspired by true events.
The Warrens most famously investigated the 1976 hauntings in Amityville, New York, which inspired the “Amityville Horror” franchise. In total, the franchise has three “Conjuring” films, three “Annabelle” features, two “Nun” movies, and “The Curse of La Llorona.” Chaves helmed “La Llorona,” “The Nun II,” and “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It.” A “Conjuring” series is in development at Max as well.
Chaves told Entertainment Weekly that there was a discussion of including all of the prior “Conjuring” villains for an “Avengers: Endgame”-inspired final film. “Even as we were developing it, we were throwing a bunch of ideas out: ‘How shamelessly big can we make it?’ ‘How epic can we make it?’ ‘Is this the culmination of all the demons coming to face them?,’” Chaves said. “I felt strongly that the biggest, most emotional story we could tell was the most personal story.”
Wan, who also directed the first two “Conjuring” films, agreed that it was best to center the feature solely on Farmiga and Wilson’s characters. “The beating heart of this franchise is Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson playing Ed and Lorraine,” Wan said. “The family dynamic, the faith the characters have, and the faith that they have in each other are really the things that drive this particular franchise. I do think that’s what people love about it. At least for me and [producer] Peter Safran, it’s really about finding a way to tell the stories of these characters and to wrap them up in a way that feels respectful to where we started with them.”
Farmiga teased that “The Last Rites” is actually “different than the others” in terms of the preceding films. “The other three were about hauntings, and this one is about reckoning, in a way,” she said. Farmiga previously worked closely with the real-life Lorraine Warren before she died in 2019. Farmiga posted a tribute at the time saying that Lorraine Warren was a “dear friend” who “touched my life.”
“The Last Rites” is executive produced by Michael Clear, Judson Scott, Natalia Safran, John Rickard, Hans Ritter, and David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick.
Warner Bros. Discovery and New Line Cinema will release “The Conjuring: The Last Rites” in theaters Friday, September 5. Check out the trailer below.
